If you have dimples and are wondering how they form or don’t have cheek dimples and want to get them, here’s everything you need to know. 

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What Causes a Dimple?

Dimples are caused by small indentations in your muscle, resulting in the overlying skin sticking to the underlying connective tissue. This common muscular variation often occurs during fetal development, resulting in cheek dimples. Contractions in the buccolabial muscle group cause the dimples that appear on a person’s face. That’s why facial expressions, such as smiling, cause dimples. For people without dimples, this facial muscle usually begins at a cheekbone that runs downward and connects to the corner of the mouth. However, for people with natural dimples, these muscles can divide into two separate bunches, connecting to the top and bottom corners of the mouth, as well as the skin underneath. 

Though some mistakenly call cheek dimples a congenital disability, these small indentations are very common and are thought to be hereditary, but the science behind them isn’t evident. Whether you love or hate them, cheek dimples pose no health risks.

How Do I Get Cheek Dimples if I Don’t Have Them Naturally?

Nowadays, with all the cosmetic procedures that celebrities and other patients request from their plastic surgeon, such as cheek implants and plastic surgery, it should come as no surprise that you can have surgery to create dimples. Known as dimpleplasty, Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery performs this minimally invasive procedure using only local anesthesia, not general. This means that the procedure can be completed in the exam room in just 15 to 20 minutes! You can find affordable prices for this procedure and other plastic surgery prices online by perusing procedures by head and neck, upper body, lower body, legs, and more. 

First, the surgeon makes an incision on the inside of your cheek, which is an ideal surgical method because it leaves no visible scarring. Then, the surgeon threads a dissolvable suture through the inside of the cheek toward the underside of the skin at the location where you want your dimple. When the suture is knotted and tightened, it mimics the dimple indentation. Even after the suture is absorbed, the scar tissue between the muscle and underlying skin continues to create the appearance of dimples.

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Immediately after surgery, the dimple is visible even without smiling. But, after a few days, the dimple only appears when you smile, just like natural ones.

Source: Chris H_F/Shutterstock.com 

The Takeaway

While the science of how people inherit cheek dimples isn’t clear, many people find these small, natural indentations highly attractive. If you desire dimples to enhance your appearance, dimpleplasty may be right for you. Call Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery at (415) 923-3005 today to learn more about how Dr. Kaplan can help you with your dimple creation. 

The post What Are Dimples & How Do I Get Them? first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.