Recessed chin - Would a chin implant or genioplasty suit me more? (photo)

The lack of horizontal projection indicates that you would likely have increased facial balance with a chin implant or genioplasty. There needs to be a significant amount of forward projection to provide a balanced lower face. A large implant will provide the projection but may increase the width of your chin and make it appear a bit masculine. In larger advancements, I generally recommend a sliding genioplasty to diminish the chance of making the chin too wide. Both procedures are performed in the hour with intravenous anesthesia and take about an hour. There is no need for braces and the bite is unchanged so eating a normal diet is recommended immediately after surgery.

You have a choice between either one. A chin implant can be done through an intra-oral approach so there is no external scar and takes about 1 hour to perform under local anesthesia. A genioplasty is more involved and requires moving the bone slightly forward. As others have suggested, you may benefit from a rhinoplasty at the same time. The tip of the nose quite wide and the angle between the lip and nose is about 90 degrees and needs to be at 110 degrees.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Since you have had braces for the occlusion of your teeth, please know that a sliding genioplasty would have a significant amount of downtime, and uncertainty. You appear to have a somewhat wide and flat chin on front view, and in your situation, depending on your examination, and anatomical implant in the midline may be considered for achieving chin projection, and chin narrowing on front view as well. There is a small amount of bone reabsorption that occurs with chin augmentation, however, this does not become clinically significant when chin implants need to be removed. I hope this helps! Sincerely, Dr Joseph

There is no doubt that chin augmentation with implant or genioplasty, no difference in your case, would create more balance. You may consider a rhinoplasty as well, since those two are very frequently performed together to improve facial harmony. Good luck.

A genioplasty is usually performed by Oral Surgeon under General anesthesia in a hospital setting with an overnight stay in the hospital, and it's much more invasive. It's usually performed when your teeth are significantly out of alignment. Placement of a chin implant can be performed under local anesthesia in the office setting where you could walk in and walk out in about 30 minutes. Bone remodeling is very slight, and we've never seen it be an issue in over 30 years.