"That Little Twinkle..."

Alright friends, time to play a game. What do Chace Crawford, Kirsten Dunst, Mario Lopez, and Jennifer Garner all have in common? Aside from the fact that they are all millionaire actors, that is...
Still don't know?
How about now? Look closely...

Didja see it? They all have dimples!
Now. You may be thinking, "Cool. So what? Why should I care?". Well, maybe you shouldn't. But, if you are someone who has not been blessed by a cute little indent in your cheeks or chin, and have always wanted one, then listen up.
A few weeks ago, my mom sent me an article about a procedure becoming more and more popular, that gives people dimples. Being the appreciative daughter I am, I didn't get around to reading the email until now while I was cleaning out my inbox. (Better late than never, mom). Anyways, the article from msnbc.com discusses this surprisingly (or not surprisingly?) simple procedure. But before I tell you more about it, let's stop and take a moment to think about something. A dimple, according to the American Heritage Medical Dictionary, is:

  A small natural indentation in the chin, cheek, or sacral region, probably due to some developmental fault in the subcutaneous connective tissue or in underlying bone.

Key word: fault. A dimple, is a defect. "Nature's most appealing defect", as the article states. Now, how about the definition of cosmetic surgery? From the same dictionary, cosmetic surgery is:

Surgery that modifies or improves the appearance of a physical feature, irregularity, or defect.

Alright. So just so that we are on the same page, a dimple is a fault or defect, and cosmetic surgery is done to correct such faults or defects and irregularities...And this is a procedure to give you a defect?? Ah, gotta love the irony.
Oh, and I'm not against someone getting dimples, I love dimples. I think they're cute and make you look perpetually happy. I just also enjoy the humor of people giving themselves a defect. Alas, I digress...

Back to this procedure. Dimple-plasties, as they are referred to in the article, are a growing trend, but have been around for over a hundred years. The surgery itself can cost anywhere from $2,000-$5,000 dollars, depending on the number and the location. The procedure is done on the inside of the mouth, not on the outside, and only requires local anesthetic and ten minutes of the patient's time. Recovery is quick - anywhere from a week to a month. The patient in the article said she was back to work 3 days later, and was able to eat lunch right after she left.

So it sounds easy enough, there's gotta be a catch, right? Well, so far, not really. Because it is such a minor procedure (in the grand scheme of things) they have been successful. The only real catch, is that you now have dimples for the rest of your life. Is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing? It's not really up to me to say one way or the other. I know people who have dimples, and hate them. I also know people who have dimples, and love them. It's all up to you to decide... after all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...or is it?