I have a dent on the side of my nose and it's never been injured. Is this normal? (Photo)

A full  set of pictures are required to make a determination about rhinoplasty. The dent  that is present appears to be a concave and inverted the upper lateral cartilage. To repair this requires a rhinoplasty to harvest septal cartilage and place a spreader graft underneath the concavity.

Thank you for your question.  Nasal contour abnormalities can be caused by trauma or simply how your nose grew.  Irregularities like this are very common.  The choice to make a change is a personal one.  Do you need rhinoplasty?  No, but if you choose to have the shape changed, then there are multiple options available to you.  Guiding you to make the right decision would require a consultation to make sure all your concerns are addressed.

If in fact you have a dent on the side of your nose and it's not causing any breathing problems and only cosmetically bothers you, then you may be a candidate for some limited inject-able filler in the region. This may give you a long term but temporary but cosmetically pleasing result and allows you to possibly consider a permanent correction in the future.

The photograph is not particularly useful. If you have a small depression that is unwanted fillers are a good place to start.

The nose has multiple parts. The bone of the outside, the bones of the inside and multiple cartilages both inside and outside. Any of them can be twisted or not "fit" with the other components even if no trauma ever occurred. The "dent" that can be seen on this photograph is due to an upper lateral cartilage that is lower in relation to the bone and opposite cartilage.  There appears to be a relative "twist" to the lower part of the nose with more fullness to the left and a relative curvature of the lowest part of the nose to the right. Straightening of the septal cartilage near the tip may allow the nasal tip cartilages to become more aligned. If not, repositioning or straightening the tip and support cartilages may be necessary. Suture techniques and even cartilage grafts can be used as necessary. Every component of the nose in some way is dependant on every other component, and getting them all to fit together cosmetically as well as functionally is the goal of aesthetic rhinoplasty. John Standefer MD

Thanks for your question. It's a little hard to tell from the one picture, but I do see what you're talking about. You may have a deviated septum making your nose slightly crooked, resulting in the divot. If it bothers you, surgery can fix this. If you're having breathing trouble, that can be addressed as well. Having a formal consultation with a facial plastic surgeon could help further determine what you would need. Good luck!