Who is a candidate for facial implants?

A good candidate for facial implants is an adult with a short or receding chin in profile, or a soft, sloping angle of the jaw, with a normal bite, a healthy mouth, a stable weight and no nicotine. A chin receded because the whole jaw sits back, or short in height as well as projection, may need orthodontics or a sliding genioplasty instead.

What kind of anesthesia is used for facial implants?

Facial implants are placed under local anesthesia with sedation or under general anesthesia, decided at the consultation. A chin implant on its own is often done under local anesthesia with sedation in the practice's office; jaw implants, or a chin implant combined with liposuction or another operation, are usually done under general anesthesia with a board-certified anesthesiologist in the practice's accredited surgery center.

How long do facial implants last?

Facial implants last a lifetime. A solid silicone chin or jaw implant does not wear out, leak or need a scheduled replacement, unlike a breast implant, which is filled with gel; the body forms a thin capsule that holds it in place. The only reasons to take one out are infection, a shift or a change of mind, and removal is a short operation.

Are facial implants painful?

Facial implants are not very painful. The chin feels tight, stretched and numb rather than sore for the first two to three days, and most patients manage with Tylenol and a few days of prescribed medication. Jaw implants add a week or two of stiffness when opening the mouth wide, because they sit beneath the masseter muscle. Discomfort settles within about a week.

Do facial implants leave scars?

Facial implants leave little or no visible scar. A chin implant placed through the mouth leaves no scar on the skin; one placed through the crease under the chin leaves a short line that faces the floor and fades to a pale mark by about a year. Jaw implants and cheek implants are placed through incisions inside the mouth, so nothing shows.

What is the recovery time for a chin implant?

Recovery time for a chin implant is about one week to a desk, two weeks until you are presentable and can exercise lightly, and six weeks to full exercise. Swelling and tightness peak at two to three days, sutures under the chin come out at about a week, and the final shape shows at six weeks to three months.

Is a chin implant the same as chin augmentation?

A chin implant is one kind of chin augmentation. Chin augmentation means any procedure that brings the chin forward: an implant placed over the bone, which is permanent; filler, which lasts about one to three years; fat transfer; or a sliding genioplasty, which moves the chin bone itself. Chin augmentation with an implant is the most common surgical version, and the one this page describes.

Chin implant or chin filler: which is better?

A chin implant is better for a chin that needs real, lasting projection; chin filler is better as a preview or for a small change. An implant is permanent, holds a clean edge and costs once; filler is a short office visit with no downtime that adds soft volume for about one to three years. Many patients try filler first, then choose the implant.

What is a jaw implant?

A jaw implant (a mandibular angle implant) is a solid silicone implant placed over the angle of the lower jaw, beneath the masseter muscle, through an incision inside the mouth. Placed as a pair, jaw implants widen and define the angle and add height to a jaw that slopes, giving the lower face an edge. Our facial plastic surgeon's fee is $10,000.

Facial Implants in Beverly Hills | Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery

Q: How much does a chin implant cost in Beverly Hills?

A chin implant at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery is priced as our facial plastic surgeon's fee of $8,000; mandibular angle implants are $10,000, chin implant removal $12,000 and a revision chin augmentation $12,000 to $15,000. The operating room and anesthesia are quoted at the consultation, so the written quote is one figure. The $500 consultation fee is credited toward surgery.

Q: What are facial implants?

Facial implants are solid, pre-shaped pieces of medical-grade silicone placed over the bone of the chin, the angle of the jaw or the cheekbone to add structure the skeleton lacks. A chin implant brings a short chin forward, jaw implants define the angle of the jaw, and cheek implants raise or fill the cheek. The change is permanent, and an implant can be removed.

Q: Can a chin implant be removed?

Yes, a chin implant can be removed. The surgeon reopens the original incision, opens the thin capsule around the implant and lifts it out, usually in under an hour under local anesthesia with sedation; the tissue settles back over a few weeks, and a smaller implant can be placed at the same time. Our facial plastic surgeon's fee for chin implant removal is $12,000.

Facial Implants in Beverly Hills

Chin augmentation with an implant, and mandibular angle implants (solid silicone implants that bring a short chin forward or define the angle of the jaw) performed by our board-certified facial plastic surgeon at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery, the Beverly Hills practice of Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACS, board-certified plastic surgeon

Facial implants (chin augmentation with an implant, and mandibular angle implants for the jaw) are shaped pieces of solid, medical-grade silicone placed over the bone to give the face structure it was not born with: a chin implant brings a short or receding chin forward so the profile balances the nose and the line from the chin to the neck turns a corner again, and a jaw angle implant widens and defines the angle of the jaw below the ear. At Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery, the Beverly Hills practice of Dr. Cat Begovic, they are placed by our board-certified facial plastic surgeon.

Our facial plastic surgeon's fee for a chin implant is $8,000 and for mandibular angle implants $10,000; the operating room and anesthesia are quoted at the consultation, so your written quote is one figure. Surgeon's fees are typical ranges: a more complex case can cost more, and your fee is set at your consultation and is final only in your written quote. A chin implant takes about one to two hours under local anesthesia with sedation or under general anesthesia, in the practice's office or its surgery center on Rodeo Drive, and most patients are back at a desk in about a week.

15-minute Patient Concierge call, no obligation. The consultation with our facial plastic surgeon is $500, credited toward your surgery.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACS

Board-certified plastic surgeon, trained in both head and neck surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery. Harvard-educated, UCLA trained. Updated October 3, 2026

What a facial implant here is built on

Four decisions behind a chin that looks born, not built.

Structure, not volumeAn implant rests on the bone and adds a fixed shape, an edge that filler and fat cannot hold; permanent, and reversible.

A facial plastic surgeonPlaced by our board-certified facial plastic surgeon, whose whole practice is surgery of the face.

Sized on your profileShape and projection chosen from your own measurements, a few millimeters at a time, with a filler preview first when you are unsure.

The right settingLocal anesthesia with sedation in the practice's office for a chin implant alone, or a board-certified anesthesiologist in its QUAD A accredited surgery center when more is planned.

What are facial implants?

A facial implant is a solid, pre-shaped piece of medical-grade silicone placed against the bone to add projection where the skeleton is short. In profile the face is read as proportions: when the chin sits behind the lower lip, the nose looks larger than it is and normal fat under the chin reads as a double chin. When the angle of the jaw is soft, the lower face has no edge from the front.

Facial implants in Beverly Hills at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery add structure rather than volume: filler and fat add soft volume that settles, while an implant adds a fixed shape on the bone that holds a clean edge and is permanent. Three areas take implants: the chin (chin augmentation with an implant, by far the most common), the angle of the jaw (mandibular angle implants) and the cheekbones. Solid silicone has nothing to leak or wear out and can be removed; porous polyethylene, which the tissue grows into, is the firmer alternative.

Who is a good candidate for a chin or jaw implant?

The test is in profile. With your teeth together, a well-proportioned chin reaches close to a vertical line dropped from the lower lip; a chin well behind it is receded. From the front, a jaw that narrows steeply from the cheekbones to the chin is the case for a jaw implant.

You may be a good candidate if

A short or receding chin in profile, with a normal bite
A soft or sloping angle of the jaw, in a face that is slim at the jaw
A double chin that is partly a short chin, often treated with chin liposuction in the same surgery
An adult face, a stable weight, good health, and no nicotine for four weeks before and after surgery

Not yet, or a different plan, if

A chin receded because the whole lower jaw sits back, with an overbite: an orthodontist or a jaw surgeon first
A chin short in height as well as projection, or asymmetric: a sliding genioplasty may fit better
A soft jawline from jowls rather than a weak jaw: a jaw implant sits under the jowl and does not lift it; jowls need a facelift
An untreated dental infection or gum disease, a changing weight, or nicotine you cannot stop

The mouth must be healthy first, because the incision is often inside it and an infected implant has to come out. Blood thinners, aspirin, anti-inflammatories and most supplements stop two weeks before surgery (the list is in the pre-op instructions), and nicotine four weeks before and after. Our double chin page explains how a short chin makes a normal neck look full; our sagging jowls page, why a jowl needs a lift, not an implant.

Types of facial implants

Chin implant (chin augmentation with an implant)

The most common facial implant, in a range of sizes and two shapes: a central implant for the point of the chin, and an extended implant with tapered wings along the jaw, which also fills the hollow in front of the jowl. The size is chosen from your profile, a few millimeters at a time, because an over-projected chin looks operated on. For a chin implant in Beverly Hills at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery, our facial plastic surgeon's fee is $8,000.

Jaw implant (mandibular angle implants)

Jaw implants sit on the angle of the lower jaw, beneath the masseter muscle. Placed as a pair, they widen the angle, add height to an angle that slopes, and give the lower face an edge; men ask for them as often as women. Our facial plastic surgeon's fee for mandibular angle implants is $10,000.

Cheek implants

Cheek implants add structure to the mid-face through an incision inside the upper lip, on the cheekbone (malar) or below it (submalar). Lost cheek volume in an aging face is more often restored with fat transfer; a cheek implant suits a flat cheekbone in a young face, and is quoted at the consultation.

How chin implant surgery is performed

The implant, the incision and the pocket

The surgeon measures how far the chin sits behind the line of the lower lip, the height of the chin and the fat and skin under it, and chooses the implant's shape and projection from that. The implant goes in through a short incision in the crease under the chin, which heals as a fine line, or one inside the lower lip, which leaves no scar on the skin. The surgeon lifts the soft tissue off the front of the jaw bone and makes a pocket the size of the implant, below the mental nerves that supply feeling to the lower lip and chin, centers it on the midline and fixes it with sutures or a small screw. Sutures under the chin come out at about a week; those inside the mouth dissolve.

Jaw angle implants

Mandibular angle implants go in through incisions inside the mouth, behind the last molars, so no scar shows: the masseter is lifted off the angle, a pocket is made over the bone, and the implant is seated and fixed before the lining is closed with dissolvable sutures. Under the masseter, they leave the jaw stiffer and more swollen than a chin implant does.

Surgery day

A chin implant takes about one to two hours; jaw implants, or a chin implant with liposuction, longer. It is done under local anesthesia with sedation in the practice's office, or under general anesthesia with a board-certified anesthesiologist in its QUAD A accredited surgery center on Rodeo Drive, decided at the consultation. You go home the same day with someone to drive you, with tape over the chin and, for an incision inside the mouth, antibiotics and a rinse.

Performed by our facial plastic surgeon

At Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery facial implants are placed by our board-certified facial plastic surgeon, whose whole practice is surgery of the face. He has been a colleague of Dr. Cat Begovic for more than a decade, and the two have operated together; his results are held to the practice's standard: natural, and nothing that reads as an implant.

Chin implant removal and revision

A chin implant can be removed, and it is not a difficult operation: the surgeon reopens the same incision, opens the capsule around the implant and lifts it out, usually in under an hour under local anesthesia with sedation; the tissue settles over a few weeks, and some patients have a smaller implant placed at the same time. Our facial plastic surgeon's fee for chin implant removal is $12,000.

Revision chin augmentation corrects an implant, from any surgeon, that has shifted, is the wrong size or shows its edge: it comes out, the pocket is remade, and a new implant is placed. Our facial plastic surgeon's fee is $12,000 to $15,000; the revision consultation is $1,500, credited toward surgery.

Chin implant, chin filler, fat transfer or a sliding genioplasty?

Four things can bring a chin forward, and they are not interchangeable.

Chin filler: the preview

Hyaluronic acid filler over the chin bone adds projection for about one to three years, in an office visit with no downtime; at the practice our facial plastic surgeon injects it, priced per syringe. It cannot add much projection without looking soft, but it is the best preview of a stronger chin; our facial fillers page and our post on chin implant vs chin filler compare the two.

Fat transfer

Your own fat, placed along the jawline or over the chin, is a permanent soft augmentation for a face that needs fullness rather than an edge; part of it resorbs and it cannot hold an implant's definition, so it is usually chosen for the cheeks. Our page on fat transfer to the face covers it.

Sliding genioplasty: the bone operation

A sliding genioplasty cuts the front of the chin bone through an incision inside the lip, slides the segment forward and fixes it with a small plate. Nothing foreign stays in the face, and it can lengthen a short chin or straighten an asymmetric one, which an implant cannot; the trade is a bigger operation on bone with a longer recovery, and the choice is made at the consultation.

Combining facial implants with other procedures

A chin implant is often combined, because it corrects a proportion rather than a feature. With rhinoplasty: the nose and the chin are read together in profile, so a prominent nose over a short chin looks larger than it is, and bringing the chin forward can do as much as reducing the nose. With chin liposuction: fat over a short chin is the commonest double chin in a slim patient, and the two work on the same angle from opposite sides in one surgery; our facial plastic surgeon's fee for neck liposuction alone is $5,000, and once the skin has loosened the operation becomes a neck lift.

With buccal fat removal: a slimmer lower cheek over a defined jaw. With a facelift: an extended chin implant adds projection to a jawline the lift has tightened. Each combination is one anesthesia and one recovery, quoted as one figure.

Facial implant recovery timeline

Recovery after a chin implant is short and mostly swelling; jaw implants add a week or two of stiffness. Our facial plastic surgeon gives you his own written instructions.

The day of surgeryHome within a few hours with someone to drive you. The chin feels tight and numb rather than painful; most patients manage with Tylenol and a few days of prescribed medication.
Days two to threeSwelling peaks and starts to fade; bruising, when there is any, sits under the chin. A soft diet, and a mouth rinse after meals.
One weekSutures under the chin come out. Most patients are back at a desk; the chin still looks larger than it will.
Two weeksMost visible swelling is gone and you are presentable. Light exercise resumes; nothing that risks a blow to the face.
Six weeksFull exercise, including running and lifting; contact sports wait for the surgeon's clearance.
Three monthsThe final shape: the deep swelling has gone, the implant feels like your own bone, and any numbness has usually resolved.
One yearThe scar under the chin, if that incision was used, has faded to a fine pale line. The result is permanent.

Risks and safety

A chin implant is a small operation, and still surgery: what can happen and how the risks are reduced.

What can go wrong

Infection, the risk that matters most with any implant: if it takes hold, the implant comes out and a new one is placed months later; the risk is higher in smokers
Shifting: an implant off the midline, too high or low, or rotated, which shows as asymmetry and needs a revision
Numbness of the lower lip and chin from stretch of the mental nerve, usually temporary; a hematoma or seroma in the first days
A visible edge in thin tissue, or an implant that reads too large or small once the swelling settles; slight bone remodeling under the implant over years; the risks of anesthesia

How the risks are reduced

A surgeon whose practice is facial surgery and who places chin and jaw implants regularly
A healthy mouth, antibiotics around the operation, a mouth rinse for an incision inside the mouth, and no nicotine for four weeks before and after
A pocket made to the size of the implant, below the mental nerves, the implant centered and fixed; a size taken from your profile, with a filler preview first when you are unsure
Local anesthesia with sedation in the office, or a board-certified anesthesiologist in a QUAD A accredited surgery center, and follow-up visits through the first months

How much does a chin implant cost in Beverly Hills?

Our facial plastic surgeon's fee for a chin implant is $8,000, for mandibular angle implants $10,000, for chin implant removal $12,000, and for a revision chin augmentation $12,000 to $15,000; cheek implants are quoted at the consultation. Those are surgeon's fees: the operating room and anesthesia are quoted with them at the consultation, so your written quote is one figure.

The implant itself is a small part of the price; what you pay for is the judgment in choosing its size and the precision of the pocket, and revising a shifted implant costs more than the original surgery done well. Insurance does not cover a cosmetic facial implant; our plastic surgery cost guides explain what a quote at the practice is made of.

Consultation fee and financing

A consultation is $500, or $1,500 for a revision consultation, credited in full toward your surgery. The practice partners with Cherry, its primary financing partner, and also accepts CareCredit and Alphaeon Credit; see financing and payment plans.

Your consultation

It starts with a free 15-minute discovery call with our Patient Concierge, who books your consultation with our facial plastic surgeon: in person on Rodeo Drive or, for out-of-town patients, by private video consultation through OnPatient, the HIPAA-secure patient portal. He reviews your history, medications, dental health and any filler in the chin, then examines the face in profile and from the front: the chin against the lips, the bite, the fat and skin under the chin, and the jaw angles. You leave with a written quote and a plain answer to which implant, if any, your face needs.

Proportion first, and one standard

A chin or jaw implant is done well when nobody can tell there is an implant: the profile simply looks as though it was always in proportion, and that is my standard for every result at this practice, natural and unmistakably you. Facial implants, like our other facial procedures, are performed by our board-certified facial plastic surgeon, a colleague I have worked alongside for more than a decade and whose eye for proportion I trust. His results are held to the same standard as every surgery at the practice, in the same accredited surgery center on Rodeo Drive, with the same board-certified physician anesthesiologist whenever general anesthesia is used.

Dr. Cat Begovic, MD, FACSBoard-certified plastic surgeon, Beverly Hills

Book a free discovery call

A chin or jaw implant sized on your profile, not on a template

A chin implant, mandibular angle implants or a filler preview first, decided on your anatomy at the consultation with our board-certified facial plastic surgeon, in the practice's office or its accredited surgery center on Rodeo Drive. It starts with a free 15-minute discovery call.