TL;DR:
- Mewing has some science behind the basic idea. Healthy tongue posture can support normal oral function and plays an especially important role as a child’s face and jaws develop.
- Mewing may affect how your jawline looks, but don’t expect a TikTok transformation. There isn’t strong evidence that mewing can dramatically or permanently reshape an adult jaw.
- The real benefits go beyond appearance. Proper tongue posture and nasal breathing can be important for healthy breathing, swallowing, oral function, and development.
- Mewing before and after photos can be misleading. Posture, lighting, weight changes, growth, and simply holding the tongue differently can make the jawline appear more defined.
The Bottom line?: Mewing isn’t necessarily useless, but the internet has conflated an exercise that can help with tongue posture with one that can dramatically resculpt your jawline.
TikTok has turned mewing for your jawline into a viral beauty hack, with users claiming that a simple change in tongue position can transform the shape of your entire face. But that’s just not true.
There’s more nuance to the story.
The truth is, tongue posture really does matter, and mewing may help improve your tongue posture. But the dramatic mewing results promoted online? They aren’t supported by strong scientific evidence.
What Is Mewing, and Does Mewing Work?
Mewing involves resting the tongue against the roof of the mouth, typically while keeping the lips closed and breathing through the nose.
The basic idea overlaps with something dentists have understood for much longer than TikTok influencers: the tongue, breathing patterns, teeth, and jaws are all interconnected.
When Bustle writer Rachel Lapidos explored whether mewing could sculpt the jawline, she spoke with Dr. Kami Hoss about the importance of breathing and tongue position.
“We need oxygen every moment, so correct breathing is critical for the development of the face, mouth, and teeth,” Dr. Hoss told Bustle.
Dr. Hoss also explained that the tongue should generally rest gently against the palate behind the teeth and that nasal breathing is particularly important during childhood, when the mouth and face are still developing.
“The whole mouth grows around your tongue, so it’s very critical for children [to breathe properly] because it really impacts their growth and development.”
Read Dr. Hoss’ Original Comments Here!
Substantiating Mewing Benefits vs. Mewing Before and After Claims
Does mewing actually help your jawline? Not really. Mewing and tongue posture may be linked in that mewing can help support normal oral function, especially for individuals with atypical anatomy.
What’s more, changing your tongue or head position can affect how defined your jawline appears in the very moment you’re doing it, making it potentially useful during photoshoots.
But is there strong evidence that mewing can dramatically or permanently remodel an adult jawbone? No. That does not exist.
That’s why mewing before and after photos deserve a healthy degree of skepticism. Lighting, camera angles, head and neck posture, facial expression, weight changes, natural growth, and orthodontic treatment can all affect someone’s appearance and be misleading.
So if you’re asking yourself “How long does mewing take to get a jawline?” the simple answer is that you can try forever, and chances are, it will never work.
For Lasting Facial Restructuring, Orthodontics is Usually Required
Think you or your child needs or could benefit from facial restructuring? Then it’s probably time to visit an orthodontist.
As the AAO notes, orthodonture is normally required for facial restricting:
“Facial restructuring is not simply achievable by changing your tongue’s resting position. It’s a complex process that involves moving jaw bones, facial bones, and soft tissue to alter the shape and alignment of the face and improve aesthetics, functionality, or both. While facial restructuring can occur naturally over time, maxillofacial deformities are usually corrected with orthodontic treatment”.
Have Questions About Tongue Posture, Mouth Breathing, or Orthodontics?
Mewing might be trending, but tongue posture and breathing are always vital, and they matter much more than getting the perfect selfie.
That’s especially true when you consider that, as Dr. Hoss explains in If Your Mouth Could Talk, what happens in the mouth can provide important clues about overall health and development.
If you’re concerned about your child’s mouth breathing, tongue posture, bite, or facial development, consider contacting The Super Dentists can help you understand what’s going on and determine whether treatment may be beneficial.
About the Author
Dr. Kami Hoss is a nationally sought-after expert with a master’s in craniofacial biology from USC, a doctorate in dental surgery from UCLA, and a post-doctorate in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. With over 25 years of experience in the dental field, Dr. Hoss is a #1 National Best Seller author frequently featured on NBC, ABC, FOX, NPR, and CBS affiliates, and founder of The Super Dentists, one of the leading multi-specialty dental practices in the country.
