🧐 Upend the Trend: Mewing

Thoughts on the Latest Thing

Sol Luckman

The Trend: Mewing

Developed in the 1970s by Dr. John Mew, an orthodontist, and carried forward by son Mike, mewing is an extremely controversial technique that purports to change the shape of the teeth and jawline by pressing (and sometimes sucking) the tongue up against the palate of the mouth to improve facial structure. The idea is to create a more angular jawline by widening the bite and adjusting the position of the jawbone.

Mewing has become wildly popular of late among teens and twentysomethings. In the process Mike Mew (who does indeed have one of the squarest faces you’ll ever see) has become something of a masthead for the latest cult of selfie snappers and podcasting narcissists: the Church of Looksmaxxing.

The Claims

Especially popular among males but also practiced by many girls and young women tempted by the promise of a more defined facial structure and sharper jaw lines, mewing in its most basic form is the exercise of flattening the tongue against the roof of the mouth and engaging the jaw muscles for roughly 20 seconds multiple times per day.

John Mew believed this technique could also improve breathing and sinus problems—and perhaps even sleep apnea. It has also been claimed that mewing might help space out crowded teeth as well as provide relief for such potentially asymmetry-related conditions as TMJ and facial neuralgia.

Upending the Trend

Based on my own experience, I believe that the basic tongue position recommended by John and Mike Mew isn’t, in itself, a bad idea. In fact, it might be rather beneficial.

As I point out in my own method of bodywork, PragmAlchemy, keeping the tongue in this position can assist vital energy (prana or chi) to circulate more freely through the system by completing the so-called microcosmic orbit. This can help keep the energy from pooling, stagnating and causing inflammation that can lead to various symptoms. Maintaining the tongue in this position can also support the weight of the head, potentially improving posture and neck issues.

That said, most dentists insist that mewing isn’t actually strong enough to change the shape of the jaw. Moreover, they claim that doing it too often or hard can create unwanted jaw tension and possibly cause TMJ, malaligned teeth, and speech issues. I personally know someone who developed a stubborn case of tinnitus after a stint of aggressive mewing, so caveat emptor.

Most dentists and orthodontists will tell you there’s no way to control the re-shaping of the jaw or face through mewing as you can with orthodontics. Granted, these practitioners of modern medicine—which tends to be myopic at best—have a lot of skin in this particular game, so bias and professional self-preservation likely play at least somewhat of a role here.

Teens enjoy multitasking with this beauty trend in school, which often allows them to not have to answer teachers’ questions while mewing. As a former high school teacher, that’s reason alone to consider mewing a questionable practice. But since much of what so many teens have to say would be better left unsaid, maybe it’s for the best.

Alternatives

There are other ways worth exploring to reshape the jaw in a DIY fashion. Regular facial fascial release (try saying that several times fast) and buccal massage come to mind. These applications purport to relax jaw muscles instead of strengthening them, thus elongating the jawline and creating a more aesthetically desirable angle and appearance.

It’s said that applying these techniques to the entire face and neck can reduce puffiness, eye bags, dark circles and fine lines, as well as enhance bone structure of the cheek bones and jaw leading to a more youthful appearance overall.

Or you could just try the ugly stepchild of mewing by “bone smashing” your jaw with a hammer—another actual latest thing. The reasoning (if we can call it that) is that the mandible will supposedly heal with greater bone density to level up while doubling down on looksmaxxing—resulting in a more chiseled (or should we say deformed?) jawline.

By hey, if orange can be the next black, why can’t ugly be the next beautiful?

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