Jaw implants in Turkey

Jaw implants are solid, shaped pieces placed on the angle of the lower jaw, usually through incisions inside the mouth so nothing shows on the face. They widen and square the back of the jaw, which is what most people mean when they talk about a defined jawline.

They are not the same as a chin implant, which sits at the front and changes projection rather than width, and they are not jaw surgery, which moves the bone to correct a bite. Getting that distinction right at consultation is what separates a good result from an expensive disappointment.

Most jaw implants are stock: manufactured in a range of widths and lengths, selected at the consultation and shaped by the surgeon during the operation. They are established, available immediately and cost less.

A custom implant starts with a CT scan of your jaw, from which the implant is designed and milled to sit exactly on your bone. It suits an asymmetric jaw, an unusual bone shape, or a change larger than a stock size can deliver, and it removes much of the guesswork about fit. It costs considerably more and needs weeks of lead time before you travel, so it has to be agreed early. Ask which the quote assumes, because a package priced on stock implants will not cover a custom pair.

1. 1

   Assessment and planning

   The surgeon examines the jaw, the bite and the soft tissue, and for a custom implant orders a CT scan. This is where stock or custom, and one implant or two, is decided.
2. 2

   General anaesthetic

   Jaw implants are placed asleep. Expect a longer anaesthetic if a chin implant is placed at the same time.
3. 3

   Intraoral incision

   An incision inside the cheek, near the back of the lower jaw, avoids any scar on the face. Access is tight, which is part of why experience matters here.
4. 4

   Creating the pocket and placing the implant

   A pocket is made directly on the bone and the implant is positioned on the angle. The nerve that supplies sensation to the lip runs nearby and is identified and protected.
5. 5

   Fixation

   Screws hold the implant in position while tissue settles around it. An unfixed implant can shift, which is the most common reason for a second operation.
6. 6

   Closure and dressings

   The incisions are closed with absorbable sutures and a supportive dressing or bandage is applied for the first days.

• Sort your dental health before you travel. The route is intraoral, so gum disease or an untreated tooth raises infection risk in a way that is entirely avoidable.
• Decide stock or custom early. A custom implant needs a scan and weeks of manufacture. It cannot be arranged after you land.
• Ask when you may fly. Swelling peaks in the first days and a long flight in that window is unpleasant. Agree the length of stay in writing.
• Ask who handles an infection at home. This is the complication most likely to appear after you return, and it can mean removal of the implant.
• Ask what is being combined. Chin implant, neck liposuction and jaw implants are often sold together. Each should be a separate line in the quote.

Expect swelling, bruising along the jaw and neck, tightness on opening the mouth, difficulty chewing for the first days, and numbness of the lower lip and chin. These are the ordinary consequences of the operation rather than complications, and most of them resolve.

What is not ordinary is increasing pain after the first days, spreading redness, fever, a bad taste or discharge in the mouth, or an implant you can feel moving. Those need to be seen promptly, which is why the aftercare arrangement matters more here than in operations done through the skin.

The change is width and definition at the angle of the jaw, most visible from the front and in three quarter view. It is permanent in the sense that the implant is designed to stay, and it can be removed or exchanged if the size is wrong or it moves.

What you should judge it against is a photograph of your own face, not someone else's jawline. Ask your surgeon to show you their own cases at six months or more, with a starting point similar to yours, and to say plainly how much width your bone and soft tissue will carry.

• British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, patient information on facial implants.
• British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, facial surgery patient information.
• General Medical Council, cosmetic interventions guidance.
• NHS, guidance on cosmetic surgery abroad.
• Turkish Ministry of Health, health tourism authorisation for hospitals.