Question about sliding genioplasty: should I wait until teeth are aligned to fix my weak chin?

Question

Hello, I have a weak chin that I really don’t like it, and I am currently having orthodontist treatment to correct my overjet teeth problem, do you think it’s better to wait until all my teeth aligned (9 more months) then do the sliding genoiplasty or there’s no different to do it anytime? I heard people say some how aligning the teeth can correct the asymmetric of the face and Jaw.

Alejandro Nogueira, MD · Answer

Chin surgery produces no interaction or interference with teeth orthodontics; that is one of its primary advantages, it is not orthognatic surgery.The only point is the imflammation during the postop; may interfer your dentist's work during 1-2 months; do discuss better with your dentist.

Larry S. Nichter, MD, MS, FACS · Answer

Far more important than the technique is the skill and experience of your plastic surgeon. Choose your surgeon rather than the technique and let them explain why one technique may be better than another.  See the below link on some suggestions on finding the most qualified Plastic Surgeon for you.  Always insist on a board certified plastic surgeon.

Jonathan Kulbersh, MD · Answer

Sliding genioplasty is an extreme surgery that I don’t recommend unless you have functional issues. To fix the cosmetic problem of a weak chin, a chin implant would give you the correction you want. You must find an expert facial plastic surgeon to help you with this. I hope this helps.

Barry L. Eppley, MD, DMD · Answer

A sliding genioplasty can be done while active orthodontic treatment is being done. The only reason to defer is if there is a chance that the orthodontic treatment may change the external aesthetic shape of the jaw/chin. That is a question for your orthodontist.

William Portuese, MD · Answer

A sliding genioplasty is performed by  an oral surgeon under general anesthesia in a hospital setting with an overnight stay at the hospital and is performed when the teeth are significantly out of alignment after braces. A chin implant procedure is performed for purely cosmetic purposes and will not change the way the teeth fit together. Chin implants are placed under local anesthesia as an outpatient procedure  which takes approximately  30 minutes. For many examples of chin implants, please see the link and the video below

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD (retired) · Answer

Hi, I have performed many facial shaping procedures, including Chin Augmentation with dermal fillers or silastic chin implants, for over 30 years.  non smiling photos of your face from the front and side would help in the evaluation.  Having your teeth aligned will have no impact on your weak chin, so you can choose to correct the weak chin whenever you want.When the chin is weak, this creates an imbalance making the nose appear larger, the mid face top heavy, the lower face looks short, de-emphasizes the lips and allows early formation of a "double chin".  
 Proper placement of a silastic chin implant adds forward projection to the chin thereby creating harmony and balance to the lower face.  Using the same incision, liposuction can be performed to reduce the fat and further shape the neck.  Excess skin, from below the chin, can also be removed through the same incision.  
 I have found that placement of a silastic chin implant, through a small curved incision under the chin (also allows excess skin removal) to be very safe, quick, highly effective and far less invasive than a sliding genioplasty (requires extensive tissue dissection, bone cuts and placement of metal screws and plates to secure the cut segments of bone).  I perform chin implant surgery in 30 minutes or less, often using a local anesthetic alone.    Which is better, chin implant or sliding genioplasty.  We place silastic chin implants through a small, curved incision under the chin using local anesthetic in 30 minutes or less.  This is "far" less invasive than a sliding genioplasty that requires cuts in the bone with plates or screws.  For that reason and because the aesthetic results are so good with a properly placed silastic chin implant of the correct shape and size...in my humble opinion there's no comparison.  The chin implant is quicker, easier, with far less surgery and healing, less unwanted side effects with results that are highly effective and reliable.  I prefer placement of a  silastic chin implant through a small, curved incision under the chin (submental) instead of through the mouth for the following reasons:
1. The submental approach is sterile while the intra-oral approach is not.
2. The submental approach requires limited dissection as it is much closer to where the chin implant needs to be placed along the center (front) and lower most sections of the chin on each side (where the wings are placed).  The intra-oral approach by contrast requires dissection all the way down the entire section of the chin in order to reach the same areas for chin implant placement.  This leads to several issues in my humble opinion.  The attachment of the chin muscle to the bone must be cut during the tissue dissection, the sensory nerves (mental) and motor nerves (marginal mandibular nerve) that move the muscles of the lips and mouth) are all in much greater jeopardy of injury because of the added dissection required.
3. The added areas of dissection, when using the intra-oral approach, allow upward migration of the implant as well as an increased risk of nerve injury.  Damage to a sensory nerve will create numbness and or an ache type discomfort while injuring the motor nerve will result in an inability to "lower" the corner of the mouth and lower lip.  While some of these symptoms can rarely be experienced in the immediate post op period as the mentalis muscle accommodates the chin implant....these symptoms should be gone within a few weeks post op.
Hope this helps.

Gerald Wittenberg, MSc, DMD (retired) · Answer

If you have a notable overbite/overjet; then talk to the orthodontist about a 'jaw surgery' to advance the lower jaw. If the overbite/overjet is very small, then a genioplasty can help the profile balance. Some orthodontists do not provide all options to patients since they make the judgement; but talk to him/her. A chin surgery can occur any time before, during or after treatment.

Question about sliding genioplasty: should I wait until teeth are aligned to fix my weak chin?

Answers (7)

More Chin Implant Questions

WE SEND PRETTY
EMAILS

Answers (7)

More Chin Implant Questions

Will a sliding genioplasty narrow the chin?

Is it safe to use chin fillers/implants when wearing braces?

Do I need to dissolve fillers before chin surgery? I’ve decided that I would like a permanent implant.

What procedure is needed to reshape my jaw into one that looks like this?

Is it possible my chin implant shifted after being bumped into? (photos)

Sliding genio vs. chin implant (require minimal risk, quicker downtime, less pain)?

WE SEND PRETTY EMAILS

WE SEND PRETTY
EMAILS