Receding Chin: Causes, Pictures, Meaning & Fixing Exercises

What causes a receding chin? What does it mean? Also called a weak chin, some people associate it with a weak character or lack of  ability to make decision (not true).

Surgery is often the most popular method to correct a receded chin, but some exercises and hairstyles can also be used to fix this condition.Receding-chin

  • A receding chin denotes a chin that is small, short, and retreating backwards.
  • When it is compared to the ordinary chin, the receded chin will be less prominent, and it may make the facial contours to appear unnatural.

Moreover, your mouth will appear to be protruding (especially your upper lip area), which may make you to appear dull and inelegant.

In some of the extreme cases, the short chin can make it difficult for you to properly close the mouth.

What is a receding chin?

Retrognathism or a recessed chin is a receding chin is a chin that is sloping backwards. [Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English].

In medical terms, the receding chin refers to the congenital underdevelopment of the mandible (lower jaw bone), which is mainly there for cosmetic purposes.

If you have a receded chin, you can undergo a number of operations to fix this cosmetic defect.

Symptoms and signs

Can you tell whether you have a receding chin? What signs, characteristics, or symptoms should you be on the lookout for? You can easily tell whether you have a recessed chin by observing some of the characteristics below:

  1. Presence of deep, shaded wrinkles around the mouth
  2. Temporomandibular aches and sounds
  3. Having a short, narrow, and very small chin
  4. No clear chin and neck contour
  5. Having a protruded upper lip

Given that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, it is difficult to come to the conclusion that a receded chin is unpleasant. There are people who do not find anything wrong with it. But, there is also that group of people who find it ugly, and would rather undergo a correctional surgery, than have to live with the receding chin.

Pictures

Here are pictures and images of a receding chin. Some are celebrities are also included, including the WWE superstar James Ellsworth.

Causes

A person with a less prominent or recessed chin will in most cases be troubled by the current state of things. Namely, his or her aesthetic appeal will be reduced, which may end up having a significant influence in their lives.

Additionally, serious cases of recessed chins may lead to dental problems, given that the chins will influence the arrangement and positioning of the teeth in the mouth.

Thus, many individuals dealing with this phenomenon will often desire to have it fixed, or do something, which can assist in making their jaws sturdier, and their chins prominent. Below are some of the causes of a receding chin:

1. Congenital disorder

A recessed chin can be present from birth in newborn babies. In such a case, the growth of your lower jaw and chin will have been affected while you were still in the womb. This is one of the most common causes of retrograde chin development. Micrognathia is a condition where your lower jaw bone is smaller than that of the upper jaw.

The condition will make your chin to appear smaller, as your lower jaw will have retarded growth.

Congenital conditions can be independent, but in some cases, they could be symptoms of additional defects e.g. Marfan’s syndrome and trisomy 13. Suffering a traumatic injury to your lower jaw bone, more so during your childhood (in babies) could constrain the growth of your jaw bone, and consequently your chin.

2. Active chin recession

Active chin recession rarely takes place after you become an adult. There are certain factors, which could be associated with the development of a receding chin in your adult life. In rare cases, it can be caused by arthritis of your temporomandibular joint (lower jaw bone).

It is a problem that is mostly confined to the elderly people. It is also possible for it to occur in a person who has had the lower jaw bone removed because of mandible cancer. Additionally, there are various kinds of dental problems, which could also be the cause of active chin recession.

How to fix a receding chin?

Living with a receding chin may diminish your facial appeal, mentally perturb you, and significantly reduce your self-esteem.

Treating the underlying cause is a great way for you to deal with what could be causing this particular problem. If a disease is to blame, you should go for a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment.

It is an ideal option for individuals suffering from active chin recession, which mainly comes when one is in the adolescent stage.

In this particular section, we are going to look at the various options available for fixing a recessed chin.

Exercises

Looking for ways on how to fix receding chin without surgery? You could be considering to take part in exercises, which can assist in making your chin lengthier.

Unfortunately, given the fact that this particular problem has something to do with the state of your mandibles, you will not come across exercises that can be of help, unless of course you happen to have a double chin.

According to Dr. Paul S. Nassif, a Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon, there are no exercises that can assist in improving the appearance of your chin.

Hiding with hairstyles

If you are not comfortable undergoing a surgical procedure to correct your chin, you can always play around with makeup, as well as using hairstyles to hide the receding chin.

There are hairstyles that can create a facial balance, which would then come in handy in reducing the appearance of a short, small chin.

When using hairstyles to fix this problem, remember that the aim of these hairstyles will be to create a center of attraction from your chin, in addition to creating a facial equilibrium.

In addition to using hairstyles to hide their small chins, men should also consider using:

  • A full beard
  • Chinstraps
  • Goatee
  • Sideburns

Surgery

Surgery is the most common method used in correcting a receding chin that has been caused by a congenital problem, which cannot be treated.

Before making the decision to undergo surgery, you need to have a discussion with your orthognathic surgeons since they will be the one to deal with the issue at hand. Common surgical options include:

1. Maxillomandibular advancement or mandibular advancement

Mandibular advancement occurs when the growth of a bone is stimulated through the application of external forces above the corticotomized location.

Here, braces or an oral device will be surgically mounted on your mandible, which will gradually stimulate and distract bone growth. It is recommended that you engage your maxillofacial surgeon and orthodontist for information on this particular procedure.

2. Bilateral sagittal split osteotomy

It is a surgical procedure that will involve splitting and repositioning your lower jaw, and having it moved forward so that the chin appears normal.

The procedure is recommended to people who have recessed jaws. The procedure is also referred to as sliding genioplasty. When being performed, your surgeon may choose to use a titanium plate.

3. Mentoplasty

It refers to altering mandibular contours or correcting deformities and defects e.g. implantation of prostheses or silicones and the removal of fact [source—Medical Dictionary].

The procedure is idea for people who have a normal size lower jaw, and their only problem is the small chin.

4. Chin Implants

A chin implant surgery is meant to change the shape and size of your chin. An implant can be used to enhance the appearance of your jawline and chin.

Its insertion can take between thirty minutes and an hour. Some of the important facts on the implants include:

  1. Implants are very common in chin surgeries, but, there are surgeons who prefer augmenting your chin through the use of your own bone and tissue, or by using an injectable e.g. Radiesse
  2. An implant can be removed, and is therefore considered to be a reversible option. The surgery can be performed under local anesthesia
  3. The major downside of the chin implants is that they do not reduce your vertical chin height, if this is what you desired. But, it can increase the chin height, if it gets placed on your lower mandible.
  4. Complications that may arise with the chin implants include infections or the shifting of the device that has been implanted.

Cost of surgery (price)

Genioplasty (chin surgery) can change the height, size, or shape of your chin. In chin surgery, chin implants tend to be the most common. A chin surgery will normally cost around eight thousand, five hundred and fifteen dollars ($8, 515).

How retrognathsm affects your life?Types-of-chins-and-shapes-meaning

Needless to say, the receded chin does not present good news for all individuals. Some of the individuals suffering from it often feel unattractive, and will in many cases do anything to ensure that it is corrected. There have been instances where some teenagers have become so affected by it, that they have ended up dealing with low self-esteem issues.

This is not all, as there are many dental problems, which could surface as a result of having the recessed chin. Abnormal teeth growth and crowding are some of the problems that have been known to surface because of having a receded chin.

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