Motiva vs Mentor Breast Implants: What Patients Should Know

Dr Scott J Turner | Specialist Plastic Surgeon (FRACS) | Sydney

Patients often ask whether Motiva or Mentor breast implants are better. The honest answer is that the question is structured wrong. Implant choice is not made on brand alone. It’s made by matching the implant to your breast width, chest wall shape, tissue coverage, profile requirements, surface considerations, and overall surgical plan.

I use TGA-approved breast implants and discuss specific implant selection only after assessing your anatomy and goals at consultation. For a full overview of how breast augmentation planning works, see the main breast augmentation procedure page.

This article compares Motiva and Mentor breast implants in general terms, including their product ranges, surface options, gel terminology, safety considerations, and how brand choice fits into tissue-based planning. Where I have a clinical preference, I’ll say so. Where the answer genuinely depends on the patient, I’ll explain why.

As a Specialist Plastic Surgeon (FRACS), I consult at Bondi Junction in the Eastern Suburbs and Manly on the Northern Beaches.

What Are Motiva and Mentor Breast Implants?

Motiva and Mentor are two of the implant brands used in Australian breast augmentation practice. Neither is a single product. Each brand includes multiple implant shapes, profiles, surfaces, and gel formulations.

• Motiva is manufactured by Establishment Labs. The Australian product range includes Ergonomix, Ergonomix2, and Round Plus implants.
• Mentor is manufactured by Mentor Medical Systems. The Australian product range includes MemoryGel, MemoryGel Xtra, and CPG anatomical implants, along with smooth and Siltex microtextured surface options.

Both brands have products listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) maintained by the TGA. Specific product availability and any regulatory conditions on individual products vary, and these can change over time.

Quick Comparison

The table below gives a side-by-side reference for the main product terminology in each brand. It’s a starting point for understanding what you’ll encounter in your own research, not a recommendation. Specific product selection within each brand is the actual clinical decision, and that follows from your anatomy.

Motiva Breast Implants: Key Features

Motiva products use proprietary terminology that patients often encounter in their research:

• Round Plus, Ergonomix, and Ergonomix2 are the main implant categories in the Australian range.
• ProgressiveGel is Motiva’s terminology for its gel formulations across the implant family.
• SmoothSilk (also called SilkSurface) refers to Motiva’s surface technology.
• BluSeal refers to the implant’s outer shell construction.

An important regulatory note for Australian patients: some Motiva products historically included Qid RFID micro-transponder technology. The TGA has cancelled certain Motiva products with Qid technology from the ARTG. Other Motiva SmoothSilk products remain listed with conditions imposed.

Patients who already have Motiva implants with Qid technology do not need them removed solely because of this ARTG status change. The Australian Breast Device Registry has confirmed that already-implanted devices are not subject to physical recall on this basis. If you have existing Motiva implants and are uncertain about your situation, that’s a conversation worth having at consultation.

Mentor Breast Implants: Key Features

Mentor’s Australian product range covers a broader set of categories:

• MemoryGel and MemoryGel Xtra are the main silicone gel implant options.
• CPG anatomical implants are shaped (teardrop-form) implants in the Mentor range.
• Smooth and Siltex microtextured are the two surface options across the range.
• Saline implants and tissue expanders are also part of the Australian catalogue.

Mentor is a long-established brand in Australian practice. Most of its current products are listed on the ARTG with conditions imposed rather than cancelled. The product range has remained relatively stable in Australia compared to the recent Motiva regulatory changes around Qid technology.

Implant Surface: SmoothSilk, Smooth, and Siltex

Implant surface is one of the most discussed differences between brands. The TGA began a post-market review of breast implants in 2019 because of concerns about BIA-ALCL (Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma) and imposed regulatory conditions on breast implants remaining available in Australia.

The relevant surface categories:

• Smooth. Used by Mentor in part of its range. Lowest reported BIA-ALCL association.
• Siltex (microtextured). Used by Mentor on textured implants. Lower BIA-ALCL association than macro-textured implants, which have been withdrawn from the Australian market.
• SmoothSilk / SilkSurface. Motiva’s proprietary surface, classified differently to traditional smooth or textured surfaces.

BIA-ALCL is a rare condition. The TGA requires implant manufacturers to include BIA-ALCL risk information in clinician instructions and patient information leaflets for all breast implants and tissue expanders. No implant in the Australian market is risk-free, and informed-consent discussion around BIA-ALCL is a mandatory part of the consultation process.

Gel Feel and Implant Behaviour

Patients sometimes ask which brand has a softer feel after surgery. Brand alone doesn’t determine the post-operative feel.

What does affect feel:

• Tissue thickness over the implant
• Implant placement (submuscular, dual plane, or subglandular)
• Implant size relative to your soft tissue
• Capsule formation over the months following surgery
• Individual healing

A 300cc Motiva Ergonomix in a patient with thin upper-pole tissue feels different from a 300cc Mentor MemoryGel in a patient with adequate tissue cover, but the difference is mostly about the patient, not the implant. Brand-level claims about gel cohesion can give a misleading impression of what your post-operative result will feel like.

Shape, Profile, and Dimensions

Both brands offer different implant dimensions across volume, base width, and projection.

A “high profile” Motiva implant is not necessarily equivalent to a “high profile” Mentor implant. Profile naming is not fully standardised across manufacturers, which means cross-brand comparisons require attention to the actual width and projection numbers rather than the marketing label.

In practical terms, when I’m comparing options across the two brands for a specific patient, I look at three numbers: the implant base width (in centimetres), the implant volume (in cubic centimetres), and the implant projection (in centimetres). These are the measurements that determine whether the implant will fit the breast footprint and produce the silhouette the patient is hoping for. The brand name and the profile label are secondary to the actual dimensions.

The right implant has to fit your anatomy. Volume that exceeds your tissue support, or a base width that exceeds your natural breast footprint, produces a result that doesn’t sit well long-term regardless of which brand the implant comes from.

For more on how these dimensions interact, see the breast implant size guide and the implant profile and projection blog.

Is Motiva Better Than Mentor?

The short answer: Motiva is not automatically better than Mentor, and Mentor is not automatically better than Motiva. The better question is which implant suits your anatomy, tissue coverage, projection requirements, surface preference, safety considerations, and surgical plan.

Decision factors at consultation include:

• Breast base width
• Chest wall shape
• Tissue thickness and skin envelope quality
• Desired implant profile and projection
• Surface preference and BIA-ALCL discussion
• Round vs anatomical shape preference
• Current Australian availability of specific products
• Surgeon familiarity with the device
• Long-term monitoring and ABDR tracking

Brand alone is rarely the deciding factor. Specific products within each brand are the actual choice, and that choice follows from your anatomy and the surgical plan.

Safety, Monitoring, and ABDR Registration

Brand choice is one part of safety. Surgical technique, sterile handling, accredited hospital setting, specialist anaesthetist, follow-up protocol, and device tracking all matter.

The Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR) is a Commonwealth Government health initiative managed by Monash University. It records surgeries involving breast devices and tracks safety, performance, and complication trends across the Australian patient population. Every implant I place is registered with the ABDR, which supports long-term monitoring of breast device surgery and provides traceability if any safety issue emerges with a specific product line.

This is part of what distinguishes Australian breast augmentation from less regulated environments. Device tracking is mandatory, not optional, and patients can request their ABDR record at any time.

How Dr Turner Chooses Between Implant Brands

In my practice, I more often use Mentor implants. The reason is clinical, not promotional: in my patient cohort, Mentor implants have produced consistent capsule behaviour and predictable long-term implant position. That doesn’t mean Motiva is unsuitable, and there are specific cases where a particular Motiva profile or surface is the right clinical choice for a given patient.

What I look for over the years of follow-up are the things that determine whether an implant choice was a good one: stable position, soft capsule behaviour, predictable shape over time, and minimal need for revision. Across my own caseload, Mentor’s track record on those measures has been strong, which is why it remains my default in the absence of a specific reason to choose otherwise.

Where there’s no specific anatomical or aesthetic reason to prefer one brand over another, my default is Mentor. For the full clinical reasoning, see why Dr Turner prefers Mentor implants.

The brand decision is part of broader breast augmentation planning, not a standalone choice. At consultation I:

• Measure your breast base width and chest wall dimensions
• Assess tissue coverage and skin envelope quality
• Discuss size and profile within the range your anatomy supports
• Consider smooth versus textured/microtextured surface options
• Confirm current Australian availability for the specific products being considered
• Record implant details for ABDR registration

The brand decision is rarely made before this assessment. It emerges from it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Motiva and Mentor breast implants available in Australia?

Yes. Both brands have products listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). Specific product availability varies, and some Motiva products have been cancelled from the ARTG (notably those with Qid micro-transponder technology) while others remain listed with conditions imposed. Mentor’s current product range remains broadly available with conditions imposed. Confirm current availability at consultation.

Is Motiva better than Mentor?

Neither is automatically better. The right implant depends on your anatomy, tissue coverage, projection requirements, surface preference, and surgical plan. The relevant comparison is between specific products within each brand, matched to your case, not between the brands as wholes.

Do Motiva implants still have Qid microchips in Australia?

The TGA has cancelled some Motiva products with Qid technology from the ARTG. Other Motiva products remain available without Qid. Patients who already have Motiva implants with Qid technology do not need them removed solely because of this regulatory change. The Australian Breast Device Registry has confirmed already-implanted devices are not subject to physical recall on this basis.

Are breast implants permanent?

No. Current-generation breast implants are not designed to last indefinitely. Most patients need further surgery at some point in their lives, whether for replacement, revision, or management of a complication. Long-term monitoring through imaging and clinical review is part of responsible long-term care.

How does Dr Turner choose between Motiva and Mentor implants?

Through measurement-based clinical assessment. Breast base width, chest wall shape, tissue coverage, desired projection, surface considerations, and surgical plan all feed into the decision. In Dr Turner’s practice, Mentor is the more common default for cases without a specific reason to prefer Motiva. The choice is made at consultation, not before.

Next Step: Breast Augmentation Planning in Sydney

Choosing between Motiva and Mentor breast implants is part of a broader surgical planning process. At consultation, I assess your breast width, chest wall, tissue coverage, implant profile options, and surgical goals before discussing which implant may be suitable.

For a full overview of the procedure, see the breast augmentation procedure page. To arrange a consultation, contact the practice.

A GP referral is required to book your first appointment.