Gone are the days when mid-20th century Hollywood movie greats like Clark Gable and Kirk Douglas made women swoon with their roguish, dimpled smiles. Having a cleft chin in those days was a sign of masculine allure and a facial feature that was a source of male envy. Many women of the silver screen who were also blessed with dimpled chins found the feature heightened their sex appeal with the movie-going masses.
Today, the cleft/dimpled chin has fallen out of vogue with both men and women.A smoother chin surface appears to be the new standard. Blessing or curse, the indented chin no longer appeals the way it once did and some people would rather theirs be erased.
Not Your Average Chin Augmentation Procedure
While the procedure is uncommon, most surgeons are confident that a dimpled chin removal procedure can be done with a high degree of success — provided the indentation isn’t too deep.
What causes chin indentation? It is basically a congenital feature where soft tissue irregularities are marked by less soft tissue and a tethered attachment of these tissues to the chin. The result is a chin indentation or depression.
If the dimple or cleft is not too deep the mentalis muscle can then be adjusted and the indentation closed completely. If the underlying bone shape is causing the dimple effect, the bone can be reshaped or contoured.A center implant can be used to lift the indentation and even it out.
There are two types of procedures used to accomplish this. One is to cut away the skin causing the dimple. However, this can leave a small scar that some patients may find unattractive. The second technique involves making a subcision to free up the underlying skin attachments and then placing a small fat graft or implant as an intermediary. This aids in preventing re-adhesion of the skin attachments that produced the original chin cleft.
Some doctors believe that the best and most reliable method is to remove the problem skin completely, but, once again, there is a risk of scarring.
The chin dimple can also be smoothed out by adding some type of filler, either a fat graft, implant, or dermal filler to level out the chin depression. Depending on the type of chin cleft, the surgeon will make the appropriate recommendations based on the patient’s facial characteristics and chin anatomy.
But if you are truly in love with your naturally cleft/dimpled chin but find that your chin lacks prominence, a Chin Augmentation procedure can strengthen the projection of your chin for the look that you desire. It is a fairly straightforward procedure that involves the skillful placement of a chin implant such as Gore-Tex to build on the natural foundation of your chin.
Dr. Edwin F. Williams is certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. If you’re considering a cosmetic procedure, and want to consult with an experienced New York facial plastic surgeon, call the Williams Center at 1-800-742-2797 today!
About the Author: Dr. Edwin Williams
Dr. Edwin Williams is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon who founded The Williams Center in 1993. He has performed over 10,000 facial plastic surgery procedures and has pioneered the deep plane facelift. He served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery for over a decade, and served as President from 2015-2016. In 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, Dr. Williams earned the Castle Connelly Top Doctors award in New York Facial Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Edwin F. Williams III attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982. He began medical school at the State University of Buffalo School of Medicine and received his Doctor of Medicine in 1986.
Dr. Williams is actively involved in teaching facial plastic and reconstruction surgery to the residents of the Albany Medical Center and is former Chief of the Section of Facial and Plastic Reconstruction Surgery at Albany Medical Center where he received an academic appointment of Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery.