What Is Mewing and Can It Reshape My Face? (2024)

Mewing, a technique in which the tongue is placed on the roof of the mouth, is purported to make the jaw more square, improve sleep, and reduce mouth breathing. Some even claim that mewing can treat speech disorders, jaw pain, and sinusitis.

The "how to mew" technique has received a lot of attention on social media. However, oral and maxillofacial surgery experts warn there’s little evidence to support claims that it can actually change your jaw structure and appearance or improve your health.

This article explains what mewing is and presents some of the research findings on jaw development and related health issues, like sleep apnea. It also discusses why it's important to see a healthcare provider for facial structure concerns and avoid potential disinformation about mewing.

How to Mew

Rather than resting their tongues on the bottom of their mouths, as people naturally do, those who practice mewing rest their tongues on the roof of their mouths.

Follow these steps to mew:

1. Close your mouth.
2. Lightly rest your bottom front teeth behind your upper front teeth or close to them.
3. Keeping your lips sealed, flatten your tongue against the roof of your mouth. You should feel your jaw muscles engaged.
4. Place the tip of your tongue just behind your upper front teeth. The position of your tongue should be similar to the position it takes to make the "n" sound.
5. Hold for at least 20 seconds. Repeat multiple times throughout the day.

Over time, people who practice mewing train their bodies to naturally return to this position. They refer to this as proper tongue posture.

Theory of Mewing and Orthotropics

Orthotropics is a branch of dentistry coined by English orthodontist Dr. John Mew that aims to expand the upper jaw and push the front teeth forward. This is meant to prevent the jaw from becoming too small compared to the size of the teeth.

According to Dr. John Mew, who originated the mewing technique in the 1970s, and his son Dr. Mike Mew, people today have smaller jaws than our ancestors. The Mews credit this to environmental and lifestyle factors, like allergies that lead to mouth breathing and ready access to food that’s soft and easy to chew.

A smaller jaw leaves teeth crowded and thus, crooked. It also contributes to a less aesthetically pleasing face, the Mews say. The two argue that practicing mewing can fix this by realigning the teeth and making the jaw larger, stronger, and more squared.

Purported Benefits

The main purported benefit of mewing is the enhancement of facial appearance. According to the Mews, by strengthening facial muscle tone, mewing expands and sharpens the jawline, and promotes a more "ideal" size relationship between the nose and chin.

A minority of clinicians, lay people, and social media influencers also claim that mewing can:

• Align the teeth: Mewing is thought to expand the jawline, providing the teeth with more space to align naturally.
• Stop mouth breathing: Mewing forces you to keep your lips closed and breathe through your nose. In theory, as the mewing position becomes more natural, it should reduce mouth breathing even while asleep.
  
• Resolve sleep apnea: By reducing mouth breathing, mewing is purported to resolve sleep apnea and snoring, as it forces the upper airway to expand and open up.
• Resolve swallowing problems: Mewing is said to activate the muscles needed for swallowing and ensure the tongue is working properly to assist with this function.
• Treat speech disorders: By improving tongue posture and strengthening facial muscle tone, it is thought that mewing improves the coordination of the tongue and other muscles involved in speech.
• Improve jaw pain and dysfunction: Proponents of mewing claim that strengthening and reshaping the jaw can alleviate jaw pain over time.
• Treat sinusitis: Mewing is said to treat and prevent sinusitis by opening the airways and promoting sinus drainage.

Does Mewing Work?

There’s little objective evidence that mewing will change your face. In addition, there has been no credible, peer-reviewed study about the effects of mewing.

John Mew has said that his own children are evidence. His daughter, fed with soft foods until she was a 4-year-old and not taught mewing, had crooked teeth and poor facial alignment. Mike Mew, on the other hand, was taught mewing and to eat rough foods, and has a square, muscular jaw.

All of that said, there is some truth to the issues that the Mews raise. Research shows that human jaws are in fact getting smaller. This has been linked with health issues including crooked teeth, mouth breathing, and sleep apnea.

Researchers have indeed linked “oral posture”—the position of the teeth and tongue—to jaw development. The solutions that researchers propose are not unlike those for which the Mews advocate.

Researchers say that eating tougher foods—particularly in childhood—can help to develop the jaw, as can chewing gum. They also advise breathing and swallowing exercises to promote improved jaw development in children.

Risks of Mewing

Mewing done properly is as unlikely to harm your face as it is to transform it. But like any exercise, mewing may come with risks when practiced improperly.

Ironically, improper mewing could actually lead to the same problems that it is purported to treat, such as:

• Malocclusions (misaligned teeth)
• Misaligned bite
• Pain in the jaw joints and surrounding muscles and ligaments, known as TMJ (temporomandibular) pain
• Loose teeth
• Speech problems
• Swallowing issues

The American Association of Orthodontists does not recommend unsupervised attempts to alter teeth or bite alignment, mewing included.

Alternatives to Mewing

Instead of mewing, more traditional treatments with proven efficacy are available.

Misaligned teeth are usually corrected with traditional metal braces, clear braces, or clear aligners. Whereas traditional braces are fixed and cannot be removed for months to years, aligners are removable.

Mouth breathing can be corrected with both short- and long-term treatments. Custom mouth guards and wearable devices, such as jaw straps and tapes, can be worn at night to force the mouth shut. Long-term mouth-closure solutions include muscle re-training exercises, palate expanders (fixed oral devices that expand the jaw), and jaw expansion surgery.

Sleep apnea treatment may involve CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) therapy, in which a machine connected to a specialized face mask delivers mild air pressure into the airways, keeping them open while you sleep. For those who find CPAP therapy intolerable, surgical approaches to enlarge the airways are available.

Swallowing disorders, collectively referred to as dysphagia, can be caused by a number of different things, all of which require different treatments. For example, some temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) that cause difficulty swallowing may be treated with an occlusal splint—a type of removable mouth guard that supports and stabilizes the jaw joints and muscles.

Speech disorders may be treated with speech therapy exercises aimed at improving one's ability to pronounce various speech sounds, words, or sentence structures. Speech and language therapists may use exercises that involve repetition, imitation, pronunciation of words with exaggerated or extended sounds, and more.

TMJ pain and dysfunction can usually be treated with non-surgical approaches. Improving your posture, sleeping on your back (and never on your stomach), practicing effective jaw strengthening exercises, and avoiding repetitive behaviors that irritate the jaw, such as nail biting and teeth grinding, can reduce TMJ pain. Surgical approaches, such as temporomandibular joint replacement, are available when more conservative approaches are inadequate.

Sinusitis usually gets better on its own without the need for treatment. In some cases, antibiotic medications may be necessary. Other ways to relieve sinus pain and pressure include placing a warm compress over the nose and forehead, using a saline nasal spray, and breathing in steam from a shower or bowl of hot water.

Mewing Controversy

Although most orthodontists focus on issues like straightening teeth or correcting an overbite, John Mew was more focused on appearance. He started treating patients using mewing and palate expanders.

This is considered a rejection of more traditional orthodontic techniques like braces.

But that is not where the controversy ends. Mewing is connected to the incel (or involuntary celibate) movement. The movement is an internet phenomenon of men who blame women and society for the fact that they are not sexually active.

Many in the incel movement became fascinated with mewing when a video of Mike Mew speaking was posted on an incel message board in 2014. Mew began engaging with people on the message board, with many of the individuals hoping to overcome their celibate status by improving their face.

Since then, the concept of mewing has been loosely associated with the incel movement.However, the practice has gained attention in more mainstream areas of the internet, with some experts arguing that concepts attached to mewing deserve more research attention.

Summary

Mewing is the practice of pressing the tongue to the roof of the mouth in order to strengthen jaw muscles and expand the jaw.

While anecdotal claims about the power of mewing for enhancing facial structure, improving sleep, and relieving jaw pain have gone viral, there is zero evidence in support of mewing for your health or appearance.

Attempts to alter your jaw or teeth structure with mewing are not recommended. If you are concerned about a symptom or condition you are experiencing, look to a healthcare provider for an evaluation.