Buccal fat pads contribute to facial fullness, or the " cherub " look that so many associate with youth — as people naturally age, these pads atrophy and the skin around them will sag.

So, as I tug on this buccal fat pad, and these internal structures where the fat pad is, people actually feel like their faces are being pulled on from the inside. It's very uncomfortable.

Plastic surgeons weigh in on TikTok's new plastic surgery obsession: buccal fat pad removal surgery. Here is how much it costs, the recovery process, and why it suddenly became so popular.

Buccal fat removal is just what it says on the label: the removal of fat from the buccal fat pad, a mass of tissue located deep within the cheek. The procedure is typically conducted under anesthesia.

So what is buccal (pronounced ‘buckle’) fat? According to Dr. Konstantin Vasyukevich, a double-board certified plastic surgeon, buccal fat is a pouch of, well, fat, in your face that maintains volume ...

Buccal fat refers to the natural fat tissues in the midface and lower face, responsible for the rounded soft jaw shape. Functionally, it serves as a cushion between two of the chewing muscles: the ...