PRESS RELEASE: As Looksmaxxing Enters The Dictionary, Melbourne Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Issues Urgent Warning Over Dangerous ‘Bone-Smashing Trend
Senior Maxillofacial Surgeon, Dr Nu Dastaran, warns viral DIY jaw-reshaping trend risks permanent disfigurement, chronic pain, and irreversible nerve damage.
MELBOURNE, 16 September 2026: As ‘looksmaxxing’ is officially added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in September 2026, one of Australia’s top facial surgeons is issuing a stark warning against one of the internet’s most extreme trends: bone-smashing.
The viral practice, which involves individuals repeatedly striking their own facial bones with hard objects like hammers, bottles, or weights in the hopes of forcing the bone to heal wider, has accumulated millions of views across social media platforms popular with young men.
Dr Nu Dastaran, a senior Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Australia’s largest specialist practice, OMFS Services, says the trend is a catastrophic misunderstanding of human anatomy.
“I break jaws for a living, but there is a vast world of difference between a controlled surgical osteotomy and hitting yourself in the face with a blunt object,” says Dr Dastaran.
“Bone-smashing does not remodel your jawline into a chiselled aesthetic. Uncontrolled blunt trauma leads to micro-fractures, severe asymmetry, permanent nerve numbness, joint dysfunction, and jagged bone spurs that can require extensive reconstructive surgery to repair.”
Dr Dastaran, who performed 10% of all jaw osteotomies in Victoria last year, notes that while surgical jaw realignment (orthognathic surgery) relies on sub-millimetre precision, digital imaging and dual medical-dental expertise, the DIY alternative is a recipe for long-term disability.
“When surgeons realign a jaw, function comes first. Breathing, chewing, speaking and pain relief. Facial harmony is the natural byproduct of correct alignment,” Dr Dastaran explains.
“Looksmaxxing may now have an official dictionary definition, but that doesn’t make extreme DIY methods safe. There is no shortcut to facial structure that involves smashing your own face.”
Surgeons across Victoria are urging parents, educators and young adults to recognise the severe risks behind viral aesthetic trends and to seek qualified medical advice for genuine functional or structural facial concerns.
OMFS Services is Australia’s largest oral and maxillofacial specialist practice, covering Greater Melbourne, Greater Geelong and regional Victoria. The dual-qualified surgical team works closely with referring dentists, orthodontists and medical practitioners to provide specialist corrective jaw surgery that leads to sustainable facial harmony.
