Patient-specific implants · New Jersey
Custom Jaw, Chin, and Facial Implants
Implants designed for your face from a 3D scan and analysis of the soft tissue drape, to strengthen the jawline, chin, or cheeks. An aesthetic alternative to jaw surgery when the bite is already correct, and an addition to jaw surgery when moving the bone alone cannot achieve the jawline or cheekbones a patient desires or a case demands.
Medically reviewed by Benjamin Subtelny, DDS, board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon
Approach
Shape Without Moving the Jaws
When the teeth already meet correctly, there is no reason to move the jaws to change the shape of the face. A custom implant adds projection, width, or definition exactly where the skeleton lacks it, and leaves the bite untouched. Like bone, it supports the skin and soft tissues over it, which helps the jawline and cheeks keep their definition as the face ages.
The same facial analysis used to plan jaw surgery guides implant design. Proportion, profile, symmetry, and the jawline and neck are measured first, so each implant is designed precisely for the face it will enhance.
Indications
Who They Help
- A weak or receding chin with a normal bite
- A soft or undefined jawline
- A short or poorly defined jaw angle
- Flat cheeks or a flat midface
- Facial asymmetry of the jaw or cheeks
- Previous surgery, with a desire for more definition
- Contour changes after facial trauma
- A mild skeletal difference already managed with orthodontics
If the bite is also off, corrective jaw surgery is preferred, because it improves jaw function as well as aesthetics. Both options are discussed at consultation.
The two are often combined. Custom implants can be placed in the same operation as jaw surgery when advancing the lower jaw alone will not create the jawline a patient has in mind, or when the cheekbones lack projection, which conventional jaw surgery can improve only modestly.
Implants
Implant Types
- Chin Implants
- Add forward projection, width, or height to the chin. A sliding genioplasty, which moves your own chin bone, is the alternative, and the choice depends on the amount and direction of change needed.
- Jawline Implants
- Run along the lower border of the jaw from the chin to the angle, giving a continuous, defined jawline. They can add width at the angle, length to a short ramus, or both.
- Cheek and Midface Implants
- Add support to the cheekbones, beneath the eyes, or beside the nose, where a flat midface can make the face look tired or recessed.
- Contour Implants
- Correct asymmetry or restore contour after trauma or earlier surgery, with each side designed independently.
Design
Why Custom
Standard implants come in a range of fixed sizes and are shaped to fit an average face. A custom implant is designed on a three-dimensional model of your own skull, guided by clinical photographs and by how your skin and soft tissues drape over the bone, which decides how a change in the skeleton will show on the surface. It fits the bone exactly, its edges taper into the jaw so they cannot be seen or felt, and the two sides can differ to correct asymmetry.
You review the design with Dr. Subtelny before it is manufactured, including how it is expected to change your face. Implants are made from medical-grade materials such as PEEK, titanium, or silicone, chosen for each location and each patient.
Process
From Scan to Surgery
Consultation and Facial Analysis
An examination of the face, bite, and jaw, with photographs. Your goals are discussed and the options compared, including jaw surgery or genioplasty where they fit better.
Scan and Design
A CT scan builds a model of your skull. The implant is designed on it, together with your clinical photographs and an analysis of your soft tissues, to the shape agreed at consultation.
Design Review
You review the implant design with Dr. Subtelny before it is manufactured. Production usually takes a few weeks.
Surgery
An outpatient operation under general anesthesia. Jaw and chin implants are placed through incisions inside the mouth and secured to the bone with small screws.
Recovery
Swelling is most visible for about two weeks and continues to settle over the following months. A soft diet while the incisions heal.
Cost
Implants placed for aesthetic reasons are not covered by insurance. You receive a written quote after consultation that includes the implant design, manufacturing, surgery, and anesthesia. Implants that reconstruct contour after trauma may be covered, and our office can request prior authorization in those cases.
Questions
Common Questions
Will an implant look natural?
A custom implant is shaped to your own bone and blends into the jaw at its edges, which is what keeps the result natural. The amount of change is planned with you in advance.
Are facial implants permanent?
They are designed to stay in place permanently. If needed, an implant can be removed or replaced.
Should I have an implant or jaw surgery?
If your bite is correct, an implant changes the face without changing the bite. If your bite also needs correction, jaw surgery usually treats both at once.
Chin implant or genioplasty?
A genioplasty moves your own bone and can change the chin in every direction. An implant adds volume and can extend along the jawline. The right choice depends on your anatomy and goals.
What are the risks?
Risks include swelling, infection, shifting of the implant, and temporary numbness of the lower lip or chin. They are reviewed in detail at consultation.
Next step
Talk It Through in Person
Consultations in Paramus and Old Bridge, New Jersey. No referral is needed.