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.