The lower jaw can have a wide range of aesthetic dimensional deficiencies. The most common is the lack of horizontal projection as seen in chin shortness or in width back at the jaw angles. These jaw deficiencies can be satisfactorily treated by a variety of conventional implant augmentation methods.
One of the least common deficiencies is that of lack of adequate vertical jawline length. This appears as a short lower face and is easily seen by the well known rule of vertical facials thirds. Equally relevant is that vertically deficient faces often have a flatter mandibular plane angle as it is short throughout the whole length of the jawline from jaw angle to chin.
Only a custom jawline implant can adequately vertically lengthen the entire bone along the inferior border from angle to angle. Dropping down the entire jawline 5mm to 7mms is usually the maximum that is needed for most patients. This is a straight drop down of the jawline although some width is needed as the implant must partially engage the jawline for fixation and stability.
The vertical lengthening custom jawline implant is surgically placed like all other jawline implants. It can be placed through an intraoral incisional approach (three incisions) or with an external submental skin incision for the anterior approach.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana