Admit it: If you weren’t born with dimples, at one point or another, you’ve seriously wished you had been. We get it. There’s something so effortlessly adorable about this cheeky physical trait that elicits jealousy in even the most confident of individuals. Well, it appears that more and more dimple lovers are turning this dream into a reality, spawning the latest craze in cosmetic surgery, appropriately known as dimpleplasty.
In a recent interview with Allure, Atlanta-based plastic surgeon Wright Jones said the minimally invasive treatment involves creating a defect (known in the medical world as “the buccinator”) in the cheek area via a small incision. “The muscle is then attached to the undersurface of the skin so that the dimples are seen upon animation, but not when the face is relaxed,” Dr. Jones explains. This means the dimples are a semi-permanent indentation that are only seen when smiling.
The treatment, which can cost anywhere from $800 to $2,500, involves about 30 minutes of surgery time and very little recovery—roughly a month or two of mild swelling and soreness. However, like any cosmetic procedure, there are some risks involved, including deformities that aren’t easy to correct. “Dimples could be overly dramatic, appear underwhelming, look unnatural, disappear with time or even be located in the wrong place,” Dr. Jones warns. We’re going to suggest not subjecting yourself to these risks for something entirely unnecessary, but to each their own. We’d rather use that money on a life-changing vacation.
