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Original poster

Dimple caused by cheek injury

93 replies

armarni · 23/05/2009 19:09

Hi everyone, about 4 weeks ago my 17 month old DD had a nasty tumble and her cheek hit the corner of our coffee table creating a very large bruise. She seemed fine after a few minutes of crying so I didnt think anything of it. Yet as the bruising has subsided Ive noticed that a hard lump has appreared under the skin at the point of impact and this has caused her to have a one sided dimple when she smiles as the skin is now contorted around this lump. I hate to think that her face is disfigured for life now. Can anyone else whose been through this post up any advice please. I've googled the issue and I'm not the only person who this has happened to, but nobody seems to give a definitive answer as to wether the lump is permenant scar tissue under the skin or if it will go with time.

TIA

OP posts:
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19
tigana · 24/05/2009 00:22

not sure a dimple counts as "disfigurement" tbh.
Doubt it'll be permanent, more likely just the soft tissue recovering.
DS walloped me with a transformer and I had a hard lump under skin as well as a bruise (was arm not face) no lump now, weeks later.

Original poster
armarni · 24/05/2009 18:06

thanks Tigana....I appreciate disfigured was a bit strong but its just worrying to see something happen to her face. Has anybody else had any experience of this sort of thing?

OP posts:
gordonpym · 25/05/2009 06:08

my friend's DD was biten at kindergarten, weeks later she noticed a lump on her cheek, under the skin,more like a timy tiny ball, which did hurt the child when touching/pushing. As it didn't go away but became bigger, the gp went through several scans and as each time the lump was getting bigger, they decided to have it removed. Surgery is for september and will work from inside the mouth.
But don't get scared, this lump was causing pain,and was certainly nasty because of a bacteria from the bite.

norksinmywaistband · 25/05/2009 08:23

As the mother of a facially scarred DD, from a birth injury,( she will have a scar covering her whole cheek that will never disappear) I found your disfigured comment a bit over the top to say the least.

Your DD has a small injury which is in the early stages of healing. My DD's scar will not heal but I do not consider it disfigurement, just part of her, and she is very beautiful.

Not meaning to belittle your problem, but most adults carry minor scars from injuries in childhood - I for one have 3 scars on my face(very small and pretty insignificant.

It is still very early in the soft tissue recovery so I would not worry too much, but if still there in a month maybe consult your GP.

letswiggle · 25/05/2009 18:49

My ds has a dimple on his right cheekbone from exactly the same kind of crash with the coffee table about 18 months ago. He's 3 now. It's quite a cute dimple though.

MummyMellie · 25/05/2009 21:51

Hi Armarni,
Have you thought of trying homeopathy? There is a wonderful company in based in London called Ainsworths, you call them and explain what has happened and they will make up a specific remedy and send it to you for the next day. Definately worth a try, has been the answer to all sorts of prob i have encountered with my little one!

cheesesarnie · 25/05/2009 21:56

i feel in a gym display at school and got a stone in my face and have dimple from that.i quite like it.
its not disfigurement-its a dimple that may or may not go.im sure she'll have a few more lumps and bumps as she gets older and if you panic each time that shes disfigured you'll drive yourself-and your dd barmy!

Sirimarie · 31/01/2015 16:20

I got a cheek injury playing soccer 3 years ago and my cheek swelled up the size of a softball. I still have the dimple and it's still somewhat sensitive. The dimple will more than likely stay there for the rest of my life because I ended up actually fracturing my cheek. i wouldn't say that it's "disfigured" because it's now just a characteristic your child has. It's unique. I wouldn't worry or obsess over it because it's really not that big of a deal. I wear mine as a badge & many people around my think it's really cool because it's not a dimple you see everyday. Things happen but it's not going to affect your child's life. I'm not a mother I only made this account to give you my input. I hope this helped!

16claire16 · 11/11/2015 14:27

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This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

TheDeep3nd · 15/11/2016 16:34

I would love an update from the OP or anyone who has experienced something similar. We are 7 weeks out from the initial injury, and the dent doesn't appear to be going anywhere. I've seen two different doctors and consulted a plastic surgeon, and they've all been very dismissive. I'm very concerned this is permanent . . .

Katia17 · 21/05/2017 22:39

Hi Clair,
Thank you for posting picture. I have been trying to find information about the same topic for a long time. It has been a year since my son got the cheek ingury. Looks like his dimple also not going anywhere. He did got himatima for some time after the impact. We were massaging s applying heat in hopes that when it goes away his face will go back to normal. However, after all the time hematoma when my away, but the cheek still looks damaged. It also affected his smile making his laugh creases asemetrical. :(

Dimple caused by cheek injury
BarbarianMum · 22/05/2017 08:17

He looks fine. His smile does not look asymmetrical. I know you are upset OP but give yourself a little shake. Some children suffer actual disfigurement you know.

Katia17 · 22/05/2017 15:28

Smile does get better with time, dimple remains. As a mother I was concerned, I was observing carefully. This forum topic is about minor cheek issues caused by small inguries. I would like to share our experience and hear back from other moms that went through similar. I fully realize that there are other more serious issues that can happen and I am very grateful that we are dealing with just a small consequence.
I am posting another picture to show how his smile looked half a year after the impact. Here you can see that on one side he was not able fully stretche his cheek. It did get a bit better. Right after the accident he was not able to smile on one side at all.

Dimple caused by cheek injury
Prarthana123 · 06/06/2017 12:47

Hie I also have a dimple on my face with a little swelling too on my right cheek due to an accident 4 months ago and it has still not gone and is the same! Can anyone tell me that will this decrease with time or will remain forever?

Penguinzz6 · 17/06/2017 05:28

I also ran into a table when I was a toddler and got a dimple. (This happened over 15 years ago.) For me, it is permanent. When I look back at old photos, it was more noticeable in some photos than in others, probably due to lighting and the angle of the camera. Today, it is just small mark on my cheek when I smile. It makes me look younger.

I do not view my dimple as a disfigurement; it's cute and makes me unique. It made me more adorable when I was little and helped me persuade people into doing what I want. People also commented on it in a positive way when I was young, and once in a while I still get compliments to this day. Don't worry too much about your child's appearance and don't talk negatively about it in front of them.

KourtneyKardashian · 17/06/2017 05:32

I know this is an old thread, but dd recently had a eye/ cheek injury and the lump was diagnosed as a resolving haemotomoa.

To get rid of the limp / dimple, you simply have to massage it with some cream 2-3 times a day for a few minutes each time.

Within days, dd's reduced which was 8 weeks post injury.

Hope this helps anyone reading this 😊

Tamocean · 25/07/2017 21:29

Excuse me KourtneyKardashian, could you please give more information about the cream that you've applied during massaging. Is it just a simple facial cream or the specific one? Thank you.

AllyWalshe · 02/10/2017 23:09

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Charlene88 · 29/08/2018 08:32

The dimple is most likely permanent. I am 29 and I have a dimple as a result of an accident. I was in a car accident in the 1st grade and I had a really bad hematoma/contusion on my cheek. After the swelling went down I was left with a dimple. I personally hate it and it makes me feel like my face is not symmetrical because it makes me smile crooked. Now that I am 29 and starting to age my smile lines are not equal.

Kartchnerjessi23 · 30/10/2018 22:09

I realize that this is from 2009, but let me shine some light on the subject. 1. Dimple is not a disfigurement. 2. It is permanent. For those who went through this issue, I have too, your face isn't ugly. I hit my cheek on a table when I wasn't even one. I was not born with dimples but I am not ugly with one. It's my beauty mark, one that I created and you should be flaunting it... rather than trying to fix her. It changed your face completely? Seriously? She lost the nerve to that part of her cheek and it won't come back... flaunt it. One thing I will mention however is that I just so happen to have a tooth the grew in wrong in the same spot that I hit my cheek. So keep an eye out because your daughter may need braces.

Hannahg778 · 10/05/2019 19:29

Hello i was in a car accident when i was 10 I hit my cheek on the edge of the seat in front of me. My cheek swelled like a balloon and when it went down left a blood pocket which turned into scar tissue. Saw plastic surgeon said there wasnt anything they could do. Im almost 32 now and still have the "dimple". I thought i was the only one with this! It does make my smile crooked and bumps my cheek out i notice it in every picture and it has bothered me my whole life. But like others have said there are way worse things in life. No one ever notices it unless i tell them, they all say they thought it was a dimple. It does make us unique though!

USApatriot · 13/05/2019 04:33

10 years later... She have a dimple? I too fell on a coffee table and put a nice dent in my face. But it is far from a disfiguration. Most people find it very cute. I wonder if anyone will ever read this.

t1996 · 23/05/2019 23:35

Same thing happened to me when I was 15. Got a bad bruise on my face which left a dimple. I’m 22 now and still have it. But I like it

Hannahg778 · 24/05/2019 00:37

You can clearly see the line on my cheek

Dimple caused by cheek injury
Katia17 · 23/06/2019 02:19

Posting picture update for my son. 3 years after the injury to the chick. I have posted pictures of one year pictures before.
Here you can see his different facial expression. Unfortunately I don’t have the front shot smile picture. His creases become better but still the one on the damaged side is still not the same. Smile itself is more or less symmetrical. It part of who he is now.

Dimple caused by cheek injury