Any options to make my chin not stick out from my profile view when smiling? (photos)

Question

Hi I'm an 18 yr. old female. My chin seems to protrude out and downward when smiling, which has made me avoid pictures. Looking to get this fixed before college.

Alejandro Nogueira, MD · Answer

It is a tempting and easy fix just merely shave the chin edges with a
 burr, very accessible technically and very little training is needed.
However under no circustances I do support or recommend (neither practice, 
obviously) the chin "shaving" with a burr, which is what you seem to 
have interest in. Chin burring is easy, needs little or no planning, can be
 done with a submental incision and requires very little skills or 
calculations, however has major and unacceptable downsides:
-flattens
 and deletes the natural chin prominence, its dome, and commonly makes 
the labiomental fold disappear or close to be deleted
-forces to 
total dettachment of mentalis rhape, otherwise full countur to burr the 
chin is unfeasible, leading to a flaccid, droopy, hollow and unestable 
chin, which commonly ends in droopy chin, double chin or jowls and 
double chin increase or formation, requiring reoperation
-makes impossible versatile manuvers like horizontal width reduction and other multidimensional modifications
I understand you want a reduction in your chin, which is a very 
common request in the office among osseus genioplasty patients, like is my 
case and experience after decades performing this procedure. Viewing 
your images your diagnosis is of an oversized chin with this 
disaggregated technical assessment:
-very slight anterior excess / prominence
-moderate vertical excess
-significant horizontal width excess and too masculine square shape
Should you be my patient I'd have you know the former conditions and suggested
 a multidimensional osseous reduction genioplasty, consisting in a 
series of precision cuts on the chin bone based on a meticulous preop 
radiologic planning as per your cephalometry. The plan would be:
-oblique
 up-down + rear-forwad osteotomy with the preop planned angle on the 
prominent chin with a subsequent resection of a same-angle slice of bone
 as per preop calculations; this would provide both anterior 
deprojection/reduction and vertical shortening in the agreed amount
-the
 horizontal width excess and the square look is addressed cutting a chip
 of cubic bone in the very right center of the split chin portion, as 
per preop planning
-final assemble is made with steel wiring so 
that stabilization and mounting the puzzle is achieved, creating a three
 dimensional reducion genioplasty effect (many cases personally done 
like this) in the preoperatively agreed and planned grade, still 
preserving the round shape and the nicely shaped chin prominence, making
 a good facial balance, without chin droopiness, without double chin or 
jowls formatio/increase, thanks to NOT DETTACHING the mentalis muscles 
and the soft chin apart from the osseous chin, this is a FUNDAMENTAL 
care that HAS TO be taken whenever you perform genioplasties, keeping 
the tendinuous rhaphe of the mentalis muscles attached to the severed 
and split chin bone fragment, not doing so creates chin flaccidity, chin
 droopiness, double chin and formation/increase of double chin and 
jowls.
If you wish better grounded opinion well lit, focused and 
standard images have to be assessed: frontal, both lateral and both 
oblique views.
Feel free to request any additional information from me.

Steven Gollehon, DDS, MD, FACS · Answer

Ask your orthodontist if you are a class III malocclusion. Many times a protruding chin is the result of mandibular excess. If so, an osteotomy to reduce the mandible is indicated. If that's not the case, a chin reduction would be the procedure of choice. If you are interested, make sure you discuss these issues with your orthodontist as well as a board certified maxillofacial surgeon. Best of luck!

Any options to make my chin not stick out from my profile view when smiling? (photos)

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Everything you need to know about Genioplasty

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Any options to make my chin not stick out from my profile view when smiling? (photos)

Answers (2)

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Genioplasty

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.