This patient was unhappy with his lack of dimples so we created some for him! To understand how a dimpleplasty creates a dimple, it’s important to understand the underlying anatomy that creates dimples in the first place. Once you understand that, you can determine if “dimpleplasty is right for me?”
What are dimples?
The buccinator muscle lies beneath the skin of the cheeks. It takes part in smiling and chewing. If there is a natural separation, or defect, in the muscle, the overlying skin will create a dent into that defect. This is the cause of a dimple.
In a dimpleplasty, the goal is to create this defect in the muscle. Under local anesthesia, a piece of oral mucosa (the lining inside the mouth) and a piece of muscle are removed. All from within the mouth. There are no incisions in the skin. After creating the “hole” in the muscle, a stitch tethers the undersurface of the skin to the surrounding tissue to create a dimple.
Initially, the dimple is there all the time. Over the next 2-3 weeks, the dimple heals and is only present during smiling. Watch the procedure below.
Dimpleplasty Video
Is dimpleplasty right for me?
Ultimately, you have to decide if you really want dimples. It’s a safe and relatively simple procedure. But you need to have reasonable expectations. The dimple will be visible all the time initially and then only when smiling. It may be bigger or smaller than you want. It’s impossible to know how it will heal exactly. And there’s always the risk of infection since the incision is inside the mouth. An area known for a high bacterial count, which is why you’ll be placed on antibiotics. If you are ready to proceed knowing those risks and benefits, then a dimpleplasty is right for you!
To check pricing on a dimpleplasty from a doctor near you, click here.
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.
