Can My Cheek Dimple Be Made Deeper?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a cheek dimple on one side that I would like deepened. I don’t know if this is possible. I have attached a few pictures of where it is located.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. You have a very lowly positioned cheek dimple which is below the horizontal level of the corner of the mouth. As you may know, many cheek dimples are posiitoned higher on the face than yours. While such cheek dimples represent a split or bifurcation of the zygomaticus muscle, yours involves some defect in the buccinator muscle. The good news is that it is located in a very favorable position as it lies below the level of where the buccal branches of the facial nerve run through the face. (below a line drawn from the tragus of the ear to the corner of the mouth) Efforts at deepening your cheek dimple involves an incision inside the mouth right opposite where your cheek dimple is. Fat is removed from beneath the cheek dimple and a resorbable suture is placed through the skin and sewn down to the buccinator muscle to pull it inward further. This is done under local anesthesia and does involve some cheek swelling afterward. It would take up to 4 to 6 weeks to see how much dimple deepening may be obtained.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana