At VIDA Clinic, we see many patients of all ages and backgrounds who want to adjust their appearance through augmentation of their chin. When people have what is commonly known as a ‘weak’ chin, it can significantly characterise their look, drawing attention or causing them to be self-conscious. A chin which is disproportionately small or recessed can make the mouth and nose appear larger and cheeks fuller than desired. Though facial implants are typically inconspicuously sized and very finely crafted, they have a major impact on one’s appearance and can completely revitalise a person’s face. Alternately, reducing the bone to sculpt, soften and decrease the size is also quite popular and creates dramatic, positive changes.

Chin implant technology has come a long way. Facial implants can achieve long-lasting, transformative results that don’t show any outward sign of surgical alteration. After years of working with different implant materials, the two which have emerged as resilient, low-risk and effective are porous polyethylene (known as Medpor®) or solid silicone. After images are taken of the patient’s jaw and chin bone, a customised implant can be created, or a near approximate shape may be selected from pre-existing sizes and fitted during surgery with minor adjustments. An implant designed to enhance the chin is usually somewhat hard, which is ideal to mimic the consistency of the bone underneath. Chin implant surgery is can be done alone as single procedure but more frequently in combination with other surgeries such as Face Lifts and Nose Jobs in order to create symmetry and harmony to the face.

Some people will prefer to discuss other possibilities to improve their chin and learn that there are non-surgical methods for creating subtle change through the injection of fillers. Those these do not create a strong, firm implant effect, nor can they produce dramatic, structural changes, but highly cohesive dermal fillers can add volume and temporarily alter the shape of a chin. Filler placed deep along the jawbone may last up to a year, and for many people, this is a desirable option which avoids surgery and allows them to ‘test drive’ the changes they want to see. Results will be instantly apparent; however, filler will slowly be broken down in the body and reabsorbed throughout the year following treatment. Benefits include the entirely natural and safe material, as well as the minimally invasive, scarless result. Patients who receive non-surgical chin augmentation do not require general anaesthesia and can be treated quickly, in-office.