how are cheek dimples created with cosmetic surgery the influence of
celebrities in social media has made having dimples a growing area of
interest for many of our patients they express how much they envied siblings
who had dimples and got a lot of attention because of possessing them
it's remarkable how passionately people come to our practice for dimple creation
surgery also known as dimple plasti this procedure has been increasing in
popularity and we are seeing more people coming from around the country and world
to have this done I'll discuss how I approached dimple surgery in my practice
I'm dr. Amiya Prasad I'm a board-certified cosmetic surgeon and
fellowship trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon I've been in
practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years
dimpleplasty is an interesting niche we've become well-known for and we've
been featured in the media for this procedure during a consultation for
dimpleplasty I asked the patient questions such as why they want to have
dimples and what is it about dimples that they think are good or desirable
after reviewing relevant medical history and current medications I begin the
consultation by showing the patient where a dimple would have naturally
occurred if they had been born with them very often people think dimples are much
higher in the cheeks than they really are
when someone is born with them there's a particular area in the cheek that I
refer to as the sweet spot where the anatomy would allow for a dimple to be
formed I show them where this sweet spot is
I mark the area I have them then use Q-tips to push in those areas pictures
are then taken with them smiling so they have an idea of what the final results
will look like the goal of dimple surgery is to create a natural
appearance of a connection of a muscle between the buccinator muscle and the
skin so that when you smile you get this nice natural-looking dimple dimple
plasti may seem like a straightforward procedure but in fact there are many
elements that are deceptively complex and can make it a less than predictable
procedure than a lot of other cosmetic procedures when we create dimples
surgically we're creating a connection through the inside of the mouth between
the buccinator muscle and the skin of the cheek as the muscle contracts
when smiling the cheek pulls in and you get this nice dimple shape there are a
few different techniques to get this done and I've developed a variation of a
technique which has yielded a consistently high rate of success some
variables that can affect outcome include the relative thickness of the
skin the amount of fat under the skin the elasticity of the skin and the
resilience of this muscle to skin connection after suture placement some
technical challenges that make this procedure not so straightforward our
people who have thicker skin and people who have a lot of fat in the cheeks and
they tend to have a harder time getting a really good deep dimple there's also
the chance that the dimple will not be as deep as you like or not have the
shape that you would like there's a limit of what can be done and there are
times when enhancement or revision is necessary like any other cosmetic
surgical procedure it's important to understand that initially you can expect
that the dimples will be present even when you're not smiling
it's also common to have a different degrees of dimple depth for the first
several months this is because we want to make that connection between the
muscle and the skin sufficiently secure so the dimple will be present long term
interestingly most of our patients have no problem with the indentation
that's temporarily always visible and have reported back to us that its
presence was not a problem in social situations as far as aftercare is
concerned I tell my patients that since we're working in the inside of the mouth
basic precautions to keep the mouth clean is advised we routinely place our
patients on antibiotics and have them use antibacterial mouthwash we also give
them specific restrictions regarding different types of food they can have as
well as the proper temperature the food should be in order to allow the opening
inside the mouth to heal adequately and minimize the risk of infection
generally speaking patients can go back to work the following day after dimple
surgery since the procedure is done completely on the inside of the mouth
there's usually no external incision and no stitches or anything on the outside
just the indentation of the dimple over the course of several months the dimple
tends to soften to the point where it appears more pronounced when smiling
there can be a subtle or not so subtle indentation in the cheek at rest which
is often seen in people who have natural dimples if you've been considering
dimple plasti meet with a doctor who is highly experienced in performing dimple
surgery I always say that this procedure is deceptively complicated because
you're working in a very small area to create a very specific result I've been
referred patients for dimple surgery doctors who are in positions such as
chief of plastic surgery at a major hospital it's a niche procedure that
doesn't have anything to do with being a better surgeon it's a matter of
experience which comes from performing this type of surgery regularly many
acclaimed surgeons simply don't perform dimple plasti with enough frequency to
be comfortable in performing this procedure surgically created dimples can
be affected by facial fat and weight changes so maintaining a healthy weight
and living a fitness focused lifestyle is beneficial surgically created dimples
can last a long time and give you the added impact to your smile you've always
wanted I hope you found this information helpful thank you for your question
you