chin implant

[buneca]

It's been 2 years and 3 months since my chin implant surgery. I had a difficult time from the very beginning.I could not speak correctly, I felt a tightness and numbness in the chin area. I have a pocket inside my mouth which traps food particles when I eat.  Sort of like a channel or canal that wasn't there before. I'm a able to speak a little better now but the numbness is still there. My bottom teeth seem to not be sitting on my jaw like they used to .  They are hanging in front of the jaw bone now.  Should I be concerned about all this? Should I remove this implant even though aesthetically it looks ok? I'm worried that my teeth look like the roots don't have a place to stand on. Please advice me.
thank you


This discussion is related to Multiple problems after chin implant/lipo.

[Tcampbell977]

Where do they make the incision for this I'm going to be getting one when i get a jaw surgery and i just want to know how much this will add to the pain.

[julesdownunder]

Hi,
Its hard to tell from your description what is going on and especially without a photo.
You say there's a 'pocket inside my mouth which traps food particles when I eat.  Sort of like a channel or canal that wasn't there before.'  I can only think that if the implant was put in via the mouth and afterwards the pocket inside your lower lip (vestibule) is much lower, then it may be that you need some more surgery to reattach the mentalis.  This procedure is called 'mentalis resuspension.' You can google the term to find a plastic surgeon who specialises in this.  
The description of the your 'teeth hanging in front of the jaw bone" is not really clear. But if it seems to you that you have less bone underneath the implant or that your tooth roots are being undermined, then you should be checked for bone loss beneath the implant - 'bone resorption' is more likely to occur if the implant is sitting too high on the chin bone, or if its so big that part of it rests on the high part of the chin.
Erosion of the bone beneath can occur in some instances. Ask you doctor to perform a cephalometric xray, which shows the bone and the soft tissues, and this will show if the implant is sitting too high (the bottom of the implant should be sitting level with the bottom of your chin bone) and if you have any sign of bone erosion below the implant (bone resorption). If the implant appears to be sitting back more than before then this may indicate bone loss in the softer bone in the upper part of the chin.
I would get a second opinion from another surgeon, preferably someone who specialises in chin implants and does them all the time and knows about the issues I've raised. They will be able to tell if all is ok or not.