Orthognathic Surgery and Custom Jawline Implant

Q: Dr. Eppley, Orthognathic surgery is a more dangerous and time-consuming surgery than jawline augmentation and if it’s possible to have an ideal aesthetic jaw without going through the more complicated surgery, that would be nice. I do have an overbite but I was under the impression (although this may be wrong) that it could be corrected/compensated for with just braces/invisalign attachments and bands without surgery. I’ve never had any pain or other functional issues from my jaw alignment, so it’s mostly an aesthetic worry.

If orthognathic surgery is the only way to get an ideal jawline and chin with my current bone structure, (and perhaps getting implants afterwards) then I’ll do it, otherwise getting just a wraparound jawline implant would be ideal. I’ve looked at before/after pictures of jawline and chin implants and it seems as though there’s a limit for how much projection can be added, and I’d also like a natural look. 

Is there any way I could get a consult with my pictures to see what my projected outcome would be with just jawline implants? Are jawline implants never recommended if there’s any overbite?

Thank you.

A: You have thus answered the question about the need for orthognathic surgery…it is not for you as your primary problem is the aesthetics of the jawline and not its function. That is good because orthognathic surgery in most cases can not approximate what a custom jawline implant can do.

You are, however, inaccurate about the limits of a custom jawline implants. The aesthetic risk with their use is far and away that they can easily be created too big rather than being too small.

I would need to see your facial pictures as well as have an idea as to what your jawline goals are to answer the question of whether a custom jawline implant would be aesthetically effective for you.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana