Chin dimples are central depressions on the upper portion of the chin pad below the labiomental sulcus. They are caused by a defect in the mentalis muscle, a lack of subcutaneous fat thickness or both. While some people that have chin dimples may find them creating a desired facial feature, others do not. Women in particular often want to get rid of their chin dimple.
Reducing or eliminating a chin dimple is best and most simply done with an injectable filler in most cases. Any of the commercially available synthetic injectable fillers can be used although their effects will be temporary. Fat injections offer the potential for a more permanent effect although their take and volume persistence can be unpredictable.
But before placing any injectable material and incurring the cost, one would like to know if it would be successful. I have seen cases where placing injectable filler does not create an outward push on the central region of the chin dimple. Instead it created a doughnut effect where the filler ends up as a ring around the most indented portion of the chin dimple.
A simple test to determine whether an injectable filler will create a reduction in a chin dimple is to inject saline. Saline solution has a very soft push on the overlying tissues compared to more dense synthetic fillers or fat. Thus a saline injection causes noticeable reduction in a chin dimple, then any type of injectable filler should also.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana