Does mewing work?

[Somerset19]

I have a narrow palette. I think from thumb sucking for years. I can’t afford Invisalign but have read about Mewing. Does it work?

Mewing is a slang word for Myofunctional therapy or oral myology. It is good for improving breathing problems in adults (there’s a really good TED talk on Buteyko breathing about this) and for preventing the need for braces in children because they won’t get a narrow palate so will never have overcrowding. It is not going to magically widen the jaw of an adult whose face has finished growing and whose bones have fused. For that you need some sort of functional appliance and probably surgery, which would cost five or ten times what Invisalign would. Mewing won’t do you any harm. It might even improve your appearance by toning your cheek muscles abd giving you a more defined jawline, but I can’t see it moving your teeth.

My cat swears by mewing.

Is it just proper tongue posture? So tongue lying on the roof of your mouth behind teeth when at rest?

Seems to be. And breathing through your nose. And chewing your food properly or something.

@Genevieva will it get rid of double chin or improve weak chin?

In theory I suppose it can reduce the size of buccinator muscles, which might help. But it can’t grow the jaw in an adult! The basic principle is that good posture and function from childhood allows the jaw to grow properly to accommodate all the teeth. That way you shouldn’t have a double chin if you are within a health weight range.

@Genevieva so do you think it will be a waste of time if I start mewing at my age (mid 50s) to improve my facial structure, ie, my jawline and double chin?

It depends what your expectations are. I don’t have perfect oral posture (narrow palate due to teenage dental extractions). I suppose it’s possible I might get a tiny benefit over time, but I’m a nose breather and I think the main benefits are probably not musculoskeletal, but more to do with reducing allergies and propensity to get colds from mouth breathing. In short, I can’t be bothered. I’m content with my imperfect appearance. I suspect most ‘mewers’ have boat dysmophia. It seems to be mostly a teenage / 20s craze. I think it also might be last year’s news. I haven’t heard teenagers talking about it as much recently.