The forgotten Bichat’s Buccal Fat Pad: A practical note for surgical dentists and oral surgeons

Buccal Fat Pad - BFP - (Latin, corpus adiposum buccae) is a specialized type of facial fatty tissue located within the cheek, between masseter and buccinator muscles. BFP is also named Bichat’s Fat Pad (in French, “Boule Graisseuse de Bichat”) after Marie-François-Xavier Bichat (1771-1802), the French anatomist , histologist, and physician who is best remembered as “the father of modern histology and descriptive anatomy”. After being considered as a surgical nuisance, it is nowadays used in oral surgery as pedicled graft. This practical note addresses the buccal fat pad in its history , anatomy , possible functions, pathology, and applications in surgical dentistry and oral surgery.