I Want a Better Jawline. Will Chin Implant and Masseter Workouts Help?

    A chin implant can assist in this goal.  Masseteric hypertrophy occurs only to a minimal extent no matter the extent of muscularity of the individual or the amount of exercise.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Thank you for your interesting question.  I would echo the comment by Dr. Kulbersh about masseter exercises.  Theoretically, exercises may help and there are plenty of papers on the opposite (botox to atrophy the masseter for patients with overly developed masseters), but the loading of this much force on a regular basis onto the TMJ may result in joint injury and/or degeneration.  An alternative to these exercises would be to have mandibular angle and or body implants placed at the same time as your chin implant.  This may give you the look you want without the same risks.  These are usually placed through intraoral incisions alone.  I would consult a cosmetic surgeon who is experienced with facial skeletal reshaping who can give you more advice after an assessment of your individual anatomy.

I have not heard of success of masseter exercises improving the jawline.  In my opinion, to build of the size of the masseters secondary to exercises, would take a long time and could be dangerous.  To exercise the muscles to the extent to make them larger would require a lot of force.  I believe this could cause problems with your jaw joint, the TMJ.  I am certainly not an expert on this subject, but that is my 2 cents.