Mewing is a DIY tongue placement technique meant to restructure your jaw by putting your tongue against the roof of your mouth. It’s named after Dr. John Mew, a British orthodontist who was recently stripped of his credentials by the General Dental Council.
There is scientific evidence supporting its benefits, but also some evidence (or lack thereof) that goes against it.
Here are the opposing viewpoints on mewing:
- According to proponents, Dr. John Mew and his son, Dr. Mike Mew, are battling mainstream orthodontic juggernauts who want to keep charging money for unnecessary surgeries, instead of cheaper, more natural treatment options, like mewing (which he calls “orthotropics”).
- According to detractors, Dr. John Mew is a dangerous source of misinformation, which is spreading across social media and YouTube, convincing normal folk that there is a science-based, non-invasive alternative to orthodontic surgery when that is not the case.
The mewing technique is huge on social media, and disparagers say that mewing takes advantage of insecure men online who are looking to improve their jawline appearance or teeth misalignment.
Mewing shouldn’t be dangerous unless you opt for mewing over a necessary orthodontic treatment. Let’s just say, there are often alternatives to mewing and invasive surgery, both of which should seldom be a first-line treatment.
Keep reading to learn more about how mewing is supposed to work, the purported benefits, and any potential risks.
If you’re interested in personalized oral health care that prioritizes scientific research, your unique circumstances, and non-invasive procedures, schedule an appointment with Rejuvenation Dentistry today.
Scientific Basis for Mewing
Dr. John Mew has studied facial restructuring since the 1950s, establishing the International Association of Facial Growth Guidance in 1987 in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Mew calls mewing “facial orthotropics.” Although mewing gained Internet virality in 2019, it has been around for decades.
How does mewing work? Here’s the best scientific research to support mewing as a health practice:
- Mewing can reshape facial structure: A 2020 study uses previous research from Dr. John Mew to show that light-but-constant pressure on facial bones can reshape those bones, leading to long-term restructuring.
- Mewing can help with OSA: The tongue base is recognized as a leading root cause of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Training your tongue posture may help with breathing problems and sleep apnea.
- Similar pressure can alter face shape: A 2021 study concludes that forces like sucking in your cheeks may alter the structure of your teeth. If that pressure can change the structure inside your mouth, why not the pressure of holding your tongue against the roof of your mouth?
- Mewing may benefit the whole body: Mewing seems to help fix facial structure problems, which could otherwise cause mental health conditions, gut health issues, and much more. Read The Mouth-Body Connection for an in-depth look at how your oral microbiome and whole-body health work together.
Dr. Mew himself presumes there are 2 reasons why mainline orthodontists and researchers do not accept his theories:
- Hard to study: It’s basically impossible to study the tongue’s position in a long-term study, rendering the peer review process of publishing scientific evidence unfeasible. Conventional scientists make the mistake of thinking that if something isn’t workable within the current mainstream scientific method, then it’s not worth considering at all.
- Inconvenient to treat: Orthodontists don’t consider retraining the tongue part of their job. Even if mainline science supported mewing, most would find it “tedious and unreliable.”
How to Mew (Step-By-Step)
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to mew:
- Close your mouth. Relax.
- Place your bottom front teeth just behind your upper front teeth. Your teeth should gently touch.
- Flatten your tongue against the roof of the mouth. You should feel your muscles working.
- Move the tip of the tongue behind your teeth without touching. Your tongue should be roughly in the position it goes to when you make an “n” or “ng” sound.
- Hold for as long as you can — or as long as you want to. Start with a short duration: 10-20 seconds. As you continue to mew, increase your duration to 30 seconds, then a minute, then longer and longer.
- Repeat this exercise multiple times a day for a few years. Get used to doing this exercise throughout the day.
- Hopefully, mewing will become natural after a short while.
Read Next: How to Habit Stack Your Oral Health Routine
Potential Benefits
Mewing promotes proper tongue alignment to reposition the jaw without surgery, additional tools, or medication. As you retrain proper oral posture, your facial aesthetics may change, particularly your smile and your jawline.
According to proponents, here are the purported health benefits of mewing:
- Improved jawline
- Facial development
- Jaw pain relief
- Straightened teeth
- Reduced double chin
- Lower sinus inflammation
- Improved speech
- Better breathing
- Less snoring
- Improved swallowing
- Lower risk of obstructive sleep apnea
- Reduced mouth breathing, increased nose breathing
Mewing promises a more conventionally attractive jawline at no cost to you. If your jawline makes you feel insecure or hasn't developed well due to nighttime mouth breathing, or if you just would like slightly different facial features, there's essentially no risk to trying it!
Note: Before and after images on social media, TikTok, and YouTube are not reliable sources of evidence. Photos can be doctored, or the angles and lighting can prove more flattering. Also, natural jawline restructuring is expected in adolescents with or without mewing.
Risks
The main risk to mewing is employing this technique as a replacement for a research-based treatment that would have helped you more efficiently and more effectively.
According to critics, these are the major risks to mewing:
- Malocclusions (underbites, overbites, open bites)
- Speech issues
- TMJ pain
- Irritation of facial muscles and jaw muscles
- Jaw alignment problems
- Undesired change in face shape
- Need for surgery
Is mewing bad for you? By itself, mewing should be mostly harmless, but it is a time commitment. Generally, it takes years before you can expect to notice a change in your facial structure. In the years spent practicing mewing, the conditions you’re trying to correct may worsen as you avoid faster, proven treatment options.
FAQs
Does mewing change your jawline?
According to advocates, yes, mewing can change your jawline. However, the primary evidence for this claim is anecdotal and intuitive, not published and peer-reviewed.
While you’re training your tongue to position itself differently, your jawline should also reposition into a more desirable structure. Sources state that it may take years to see results, but many on social media claim anecdotally that it only took months to notice a difference.
There are natural alternatives to both mewing and orthodontic surgeries.
How many hours should you mew per day?
Proponents, including founder Dr. John Mew, have recommended 8 hours of mewing per day and practicing proper oral posture while sleeping. You can start with a few seconds of mewing and very slowly work your way up to naturally mewing for hours throughout the day and during sleep.
Can mewing replace the need for orthodontic treatment?
Although mewing may benefit your oral health and facial aesthetics, it may also keep you from seeking necessary orthodontic treatments. In edge cases, mewing is helpful. In other edge cases, orthodontic surgery is required.
In my experience, most cases can be resolved by a middle solution: non-invasive holistic dentistry. As a biological dentist, I help people solve their oral health problems by looking at whole-body root causes and addressing these issues with natural, non-surgical, evidence-based solutions.
Bottom Line
The bottom line about mewing is that proper tongue posture may help you reshape your jaw, relieve temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, focus for longer, and improve your breathing. But mewing is not reliable, scientifically tested, or the most effective option.
Looking for non-invasive alternatives? Read about these mouth guards, including the DNA appliance, which can help restructure your oral cavity, reposition your tongue, and treat obstructive sleep apnea. And the DNA appliance is based on growing scientific evidence!
Looking For Holistic Oral Health Solutions?
Dr. Gerry Curatola’s team at Rejuvenation Dentistry has decades of experience treating oral health problems with holistic, conservative solutions based on science that don’t submit to irrelevant axioms of conventional dentistry. (For example, surgery should not be the first response to most conditions.)
Schedule an appointment with Rejuvenation Dentistry so that we can form an individualized treatment plan, and you can get on with your healthy life.
Sources
- Lee, U. K., Graves, L. L., & Friedlander, A. H. (2019). Mewing: Social Media’s Alternative to Orthognathic Surgery?. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 77(9), 1743-1744. Full text: https://www.joms.org/article/S0278-2391(19)30349-0/fulltext
- Kahn, S., Ehrlich, P., Feldman, M., Sapolsky, R., & Wong, S. (2020). The jaw epidemic: Recognition, origins, cures, and prevention. BioScience, 70(9), 759-771. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7498344/
- Hendricks, R., Patel, Z., Suleman, L., Khalfey, H., Engela, E., & Adams, S. (2024). The role of the tongue base in obstructive sleep apnoea. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 79(2), 121-132. Full text: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0035919X.2024.2355464
- Al Zubaidi, S. H., Alsultan, M. M., & Hasan, L. A. (2021). Finite element analysis of the stress released by buccinator muscle in the mandibular dental arch during sucking habits. Journal of Oral Biology and Craniofacial Research, 11(3), 430-434. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8164032/
- Mew, J. (2015). The influence of the tongue on dentofacial growth. The Angle Orthodontist, 85(4), 715-715. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8611756/
- Singh, G. D., Griffin, T. M., & Chandrashekhar, R. (2014). Biomimetic oral appliance therapy in adults with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Austin J Sleep Disord, 1(1), 5. Full text: https://vivos.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/biomimetic-oral-appliance-therapy-in-adults-with-severe-obstructive-sleep-apnea-1.pdf
- Obisesan, O., Bryant, C., & Shah, A. (2022). When dental extractions go wrong: An overview of common complications and management. Primary Dental Journal, 11(3), 88-97. Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36073050/
Dr. Gerry Curatola is a renowned biologic restorative dentist with more than 40 years of clinical practice experience. He studied neuroscience at Colgate University and attended dental school at the New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry, where he now serves as Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Cariology and Comprehensive Care.
