Chin & Jawline Contouring in Turkey

They are grouped together on this page because patients usually arrive describing a look rather than a procedure — "I want a sharper jawline", "my chin is weak", "my face is too round at the bottom". The right operation depends on which structure is actually responsible, and getting that wrong is how people end up with a chin implant when their problem was their bite.

The options, and what each one does

Implant or sliding genioplasty?

• A chin implant is a silicone or porous polyethylene shape placed over the chin bone. Shorter operation, reversible, and ideal for modest forward projection of 3–7 mm.
• A sliding genioplasty cuts the chin bone and moves it forward, fixing it with plates. More surgery, not reversible, but it can advance further, move the chin vertically as well as forward, and carries no risk of implant infection or bone resorption.
• For advancement over about 8 mm, or where the chin is also too long or too short vertically, genioplasty is usually the better operation.
• For a straightforward modest advance in a patient with a normal bite, an implant does the job with less surgery.

What the package includes

• Surgeon and anaesthetist fees
• One night in a private hospital room
• All pre-operative blood tests and a facial CT or panoramic X-ray
• The implant itself, where used
• Six nights in a four-star hotel with breakfast
• All airport, hotel and hospital transfers
• A personal English-speaking coordinator
• Antibacterial mouthwash for intraoral incisions
• Compression support garment where indicated
• Twelve months of remote aftercare

Imaging is included, and it changes the plan

A panoramic X-ray or facial CT shows where the mental nerve runs, how thick the chin bone is and whether the tooth roots sit in the way. It is also what reveals a bite discrepancy that would make a chin implant the wrong answer. Any clinic planning chin surgery from photographs alone is working blind on the one structure that cannot be undone.

Surgery is usually suitable if

• Your chin is recessed in profile and your bite is normal.
• Your jaw angle is soft or rounded and you want more definition.
• Your lower cheeks are full and you want a slimmer, more sculpted look.
• Your chin is strong enough but sits too high or too low vertically.
• You have tried filler and want something permanent.
• You are over 18 with fully developed facial bones, and a non-smoker or willing to stop.

You may need something else first

• Your teeth do not meet properly: orthodontics or jaw surgery addresses the cause. A chin implant disguises it.
• Your concern is a double chin rather than bone: liposuction or skin tightening is the answer, not an implant.
• Your jawline has softened with age rather than always been soft: this is jowling, and a facelift addresses it.
• You are under 18: facial bones are still developing.
• You have thin facial tissue and want large jaw angle implants: the edges can become visible.
• You are considering buccal fat removal and are under 25: faces slim naturally with age, and removing fat early can produce a gaunt look later.

Our self-check below gives you a starting answer, and a Valentmedica plastic surgeon reviews your photographs free of charge and will tell you if the answer is orthodontic rather than surgical.

1. Imaging review: nerve position, bone thickness and tooth root depth are confirmed on the X-ray or CT before any incision.
2. Anaesthetic: a consultant anaesthetist puts you to sleep. The mouth is prepared with antiseptic.
3. Chin implant — access: a small incision inside the lower lip, or occasionally under the chin, exposes the chin bone. A precise pocket is made, no larger than the implant, so it cannot move.
4. Chin implant — placement: the implant is positioned on the bone, checked for symmetry against the facial midline and fixed with a screw or suture so it cannot migrate.
5. Sliding genioplasty — the cut: an oscillating saw divides the chin bone horizontally below the tooth roots and below the mental nerve, which is identified and protected first.
6. Sliding genioplasty — repositioning: the freed segment is slid forward to the planned distance, and can also be moved vertically or asymmetrically to correct a deviation. It is fixed with titanium plates and screws.
7. Jaw angle implants: placed through intraoral incisions at the back of the mouth, sitting on the angle of the mandible and fixed in position.
8. Buccal fat removal: a small intraoral incision in the cheek allows the buccal fat pad to be teased out. Conservative removal only — this is not reversible.
9. Closing: intraoral incisions closed with dissolving sutures and a supportive dressing or chin strap applied.

• Days 1–3: swelling across the chin and jaw, often extending to the neck. Numbness of the lower lip and chin is expected. Head elevated, soft food, mouthwash after every meal.
• Days 4–7: swelling peaks around day three or four then begins to settle. Talking is tiring and chewing is uncomfortable.
• Days 10–14: most patients are presentable and back at a desk job. Residual swelling remains obvious to you.
• Weeks 3–4: swelling largely resolved. Normal eating resumes. Numbness beginning to improve.
• Weeks 4–6: light exercise restarts. No contact sport for three months after an implant or genioplasty.
• Months 2–3: the contour becomes clear. Lip sensation continues recovering.
• Months 3–6: the final result. Full sensation usually returns, though a small area of altered feeling can persist.

Valentmedica works only with JCI-accredited private hospitals in Istanbul and with plastic surgeons registered with the Turkish Ministry of Health who hold Turkish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons membership. Facial imaging before surgery is standard rather than optional.

Risks you should know about

• Mental nerve injury: numbness of the lower lip and chin, common temporarily and occasionally permanent.
• Implant infection: uncommon, but usually means removing the implant.
• Implant malposition or migration: prevented by a precise pocket and fixation, but a recognised problem with unfixed implants.
• Bone resorption: the chin bone can thin slightly beneath a long-standing implant. Usually of no consequence.
• Asymmetry: faces are not symmetrical, and small differences often remain or become more noticeable.
• Over-resection in buccal fat removal: faces slim with age, and removing too much can produce a gaunt, hollow look in later decades.
• Infection or plate problems after genioplasty: uncommon, and plates are rarely removed.
• Lip incompetence: difficulty closing the lips comfortably after a large advancement.

Tell your surgeon if you grind your teeth, have had orthodontic treatment, or have any jaw joint problems. All three affect planning, and jaw joint symptoms can be worsened by prolonged mouth opening during surgery.

A nose that looks too large is sometimes a chin that is too small. Assessing the profile as a whole rather than feature by feature is what separates a balanced result from one that simply moves the problem.

Commonly combined with

• Rhinoplasty: the classic profile pairing, and frequently the combination that produces the change a patient was actually looking for. See rhinoplasty.
• Neck liposuction: removing submental fat sharpens the jawline more than any implant can on its own.
• Buccal fat removal: slims the lower cheek and emphasises the jaw angle.
• Facelift: where jawline softening is from ageing rather than bone structure. See facelift.
• Otoplasty: another proportion operation, easily added. See ear surgery.

If your jawline has softened in your forties or fifties rather than always being soft, an implant is probably the wrong answer. That is jowling and descent, and lifting addresses it where augmentation does not.

• Dental check: intraoral incisions mean any active dental infection must be treated first. Have a check-up before you travel.
• Bite photograph: send a photograph of your teeth closed together, front on. It is the quickest way for a surgeon to spot a bite discrepancy that would change the recommendation.
• Try filler first: if you are unsure about a chin implant, chin filler previews the result for a fraction of the cost and dissolves if you dislike it.
• Medication: tell your surgeon everything you take. Blood thinners and anti-inflammatories increase bruising in a highly vascular area.
• Smoking: stop at least four weeks before and after. It raises the risk of implant infection and poor intraoral healing.
• Soft food: plan a fortnight. Soup, eggs, yoghurt, soft fish and smoothies.
• Time off: plan 10–14 days. Facial swelling is visible and chewing is uncomfortable.

A few millimetres of chin projection changes the profile considerably, which cuts both ways: it is why modest surgery achieves so much here, and why over-correction is so visible. A good result balances the chin against the nose and the lips rather than maximising projection, and the test of success is a profile that looks unremarkable rather than one that draws attention to the chin.

Implants are permanent but removable, which is a genuine advantage if you change your mind or if your face changes with age. A sliding genioplasty is permanent and not reversible, but it uses your own bone, carries no infection-around-a-foreign-body risk and can correct vertical position as well as projection. Buccal fat removal is the one procedure here to approach with real caution — faces naturally slim with age, and fat removed at 25 cannot be put back at 50. You can see profile comparisons at three and twelve months in our before and after gallery.