Mandibular erosion from silastic implants: evaluation with a dental CT software program

Silastic implants used to augment the chin during cosmetic surgery may cause erosive bone changes and complications. We describe the radiologic appearance of these changes and the dental CT reformatting programs by which they may be assessed. Multiplanar CT scans of four patients with Silastic chin implants were evaluated retrospectively for implant density, presence and size of bone defects, relationship of defects to root apices, relationship of defects to mental foramen, and associated findings. The dental CT software program was instrumental in delineating the relationship between the bone defects and the root apices.