Few people have naturally straight teeth, but many desire them.
However, achieving perfectly straight teeth is expensive, leading people to try solutions like mewing.
Mewing is a practice not many know about, but it’s recently gaining traction on social media. It’s a technique that supposedly straightens teeth without visiting an orthodontist. Practitioners claim it corrects facial structural, orthodontic, and breathing problems. But does it work?
What Is Mewing?
Origins
John Mew and his son Mike are the British orthodontists who developed mewing, or orthotropics, in the 1970s. Mew began treating patients using palate expanders and mewing without braces and other traditional teeth straightening techniques. According to them, mewing results in a strong jawline and a better appearance.
Theory
According to the Mews, we have smaller jaws than our ancestors due to lifestyle and environmental factors like mouth breathing because of allergies and easy access to soft and chewy food.
In mewing, poor facial posture, improper breathing, and poor diet cause jaw and teeth misalignments. Practitioners use movable appliances to ensure proper tongue position; if the tongue rests on your mouth’s roof, it opens up the top jaw, giving teeth some room to grow and encouraging the jaw to grow forward.
Smaller jaws cause teeth to grow crooked and crowded. They’re also less pleasing to the eye. The Mews claim that good tongue posture improves jaw size, strength, and squareness. They also believe orthotropics help combat sleep apnea and promotes a healthier respiratory system.
Mewing and Social Media
Social media platforms and internet video platforms have emphasized the benefits of Mewing as an alternative to jaw surgery or conventional orthodontics in the last two years. A Google Trends search for Mewing showed a remarkable increase in interest and popularity since January 2019.
Mike Mew and his YouTube videos are the most prominent reason for mewing’s recent popularity. However, his outspokenness and continuous bad-mouthing of traditional practices and orthodontics have cost him his license. The British Orthodontic Society claims his social media statements are misleading patients and the general public. They had also stripped the elder Mew of his license years before.
Mewing is also loosely associated with the incel (involuntary celibate) movement, an internet phenomenon where men blame society and women for their sexual inactiveness. They became interested in orthotropics after someone posted a video of Mike Mew on an incel message board in 2014. Mew engaged the people on this message board, many of whom hoped to overcome their celibacy by improving their face’s appearance.
YouTube vloggers and other social media influencers promoted orthotropics as a beauty treatment for adults, despite being only suitable for children. The situation caused the Mews to lose some control over their idea of orthotropics; however, they didn’t stop them; instead, they began to treat a select group of adult patients to see if it was possible.
How to Mew
The younger Mew developed several techniques to improve facial posture and features. Each mewing exercise is different, but they all aim for the same things: correct facial posture and better facial shape.
The basic steps are:
- Close the lips.
- Move your jaw to place your front bottom teeth behind your front upper teeth.
- Cover the mouth’s roof with your tongue.
- Without touching your front teeth, place the tip of your tongue behind your front teeth.
Some people suggest making the “ng” sound to help you find the right position. Other suggestions include concentrating on exhaling from your nose, not your mouth.
Is It Effective?
Evidence
Mewing may be popular on social media, but not with dental experts. There is no objective evidence supporting its claims, and no peer-reviewed, credible study has been performed to gauge its effects.
John Mew has said his children are his proof. His daughter, whom he fed soft foods without teaching orthotropics, had crooked teeth and unpleasant facial alignment. On the other hand, his son developed square, muscular jaws because he was fed rough and hard foods and taught orthotropics.
However, some of the issues the Mews claim they solve have some truth to them. Research has shown human jaws are indeed shrinking, linked to health issues like crooked and misaligned teeth, sleep apnea, and breathing.
Researchers have also linked oral posture to jaw development. However, the solutions they proposed were different from what the Mews advocated.
According to researchers, chewing gum and eating herder foods during childhood helps develop the jaw. They also advise children about breathing and swallowing exercises and to develop their jaws.
Age and Orthotropics
Age is an important factor that affects mewing’s effectiveness; the older a person is, the lesser its effectiveness. It’s difficult to change a body the more developed it is. People over 25 won’t feel its effectiveness.
Some people do achieve improvements and have mewing before and after pictures to show. However, it is whimsical to believe that doing it during adulthood will dramatically improve facial features.
Other Ways to Straighten Teeth
Don’t lose all hope; you can still straighten your teeth with help from your dentists. Some procedures may be more expensive, but all of them are sure to help you achieve a straighter smile.
Some of the ways you can try include:
1. Braces
Dental braces are the most common orthodontic treatment to straighten teeth. The American Association of Orthodontists states they take between 90 and 120 minutes to place, requiring follow-up adjustments every six to ten weeks.
They come in different types, but the three major kinds are metal, ceramic, and lingual, helping them meet different patients’ needs. Their prices may vary, from $3000 to $10,000.
2. Aligners
Patients with mild to moderate misalignment are best suited to clear dental aligners. Dentists take impressions of your teeth to make them, ensuring their perfect fit. You might feel a little pressure on your teeth when you first wear them, but in a few days, it will dissipate due to your teeth shifting. Trays need to be replaced every two to three weeks until you achieve the right alignment. They also cost between $8000 to $12,000.
3. Retainers
Retainers prevent your teeth from relapsing after you’re done with braces and aligners. Experts recommend using them full-time for the first six months, then just at night for a lifetime to make sure your teeth stay in correct alignment.
Achieve A Better Smile with Sunrise Dentistry Today
Our dentist in Pagosa Springs will help you achieve your oral health goals through a holistic approach. Contact us today, and we’ll gladly answer your inquiries.
