See also
Mewing is an unproven form of oral posture training purported to improve jaw and facial structure. [1] It was named after British orthodontist John Mew, who created the technique as a part of a practice called "orthotropics", and his son Mike. [2] [3] It involves placing one's tongue at the roof of the mouth and applying pressure, purportedly to modify the structure of the jaws. [4] [5]
No credible scientific research has ever proven the efficacy of orthotropics, [2] and most orthodontists do not view mewing as a viable alternative treatment to orthognathic surgery. [1] [6] Mike Mew was expelled from the British Orthodontic Society [2] and faced a misconduct hearing for posing harm to child patients who underwent his treatments. [7] [8] In 2024, Mew was struck from the dental register in the United Kingdom. [3]
Since 2019, mewing has received widespread media coverage due to its virality on social media, [9] especially in incel and looksmaxxing subcultures and has been associated with "brain rot". [2] [10] [11] Data from Google Trends indicates that interest in "mewing" began to rise in January 2019. [1] Its popularity has reportedly also affected school students, with some apparently mewing in class to avoid answering questions when prompted by teachers. [12] [13]