Mewing: Does It Actually Work? What the Evidence Says

What is Mewing?

Mewing is a technique that involves consciously maintaining what proponents consider optimal oral posture: resting the entire tongue — including the posterior third — flat against the roof of the mouth (the hard palate), keeping the lips together, breathing through the nose, and allowing the teeth to rest lightly together or slightly apart. The practice is named after Dr. Mike Mew, a British orthodontist who, along with his father Dr. John Mew, developed the field they call "orthotropics."

The technique

The core of mewing is deceptively simple: place your tongue against the roof of your mouth and keep it there. In practice, most people find that they naturally rest their tongue at the bottom of their mouth or only press the tip against the palate. Mewing requires engaging the entire tongue surface, particularly the back third, which is the part most people struggle with. The lips should be sealed, breathing should occur through the nose, and the jaw should be relaxed rather than clenched.

Proponents describe this not as an exercise but as a postural correction — a return to what they consider the natural resting position of the tongue. The idea is that modern soft diets, bottle feeding, and mouth breathing have led to widespread suboptimal oral posture, and that consciously correcting this can influence facial development.

Origins in orthotropics

Dr. John Mew began developing orthotropic theory in the 1960s and 1970s, arguing that modern facial development problems — crowded teeth, recessed jaws, narrow palates — were not primarily genetic but environmental. His thesis was that changes in diet (softer foods requiring less chewing), increased prevalence of mouth breathing (due to allergies, enlarged adenoids, and habitual patterns), and poor oral posture were causing faces to develop differently than they had in previous centuries.

His son, Dr. Mike Mew, continued this work and became its most visible advocate. However, it is important to note that both Mews have faced significant pushback from the mainstream orthodontic community, and Dr. John Mew was expelled from the British Orthodontic Society in 2017 for publicly criticizing conventional orthodontic practices.

How it went viral

Mewing exploded into mainstream awareness around 2018-2019, driven primarily by YouTube and later TikTok. Dr. Mike Mew's YouTube channel garnered millions of views with videos explaining the technique and showing purported before-and-after transformations. The looksmaxxing community adopted mewing enthusiastically, and it became one of the most widely discussed techniques in online aesthetics and self-improvement spaces.

The viral spread was accelerated by several factors: the technique is free, requires no equipment, can be practiced anywhere, and promises improvements to one of the most coveted aesthetic features — a defined jawline. It also arrived at a cultural moment when interest in facial aesthetics, self-improvement, and looksmaxxing was surging among younger demographics. By 2024, "mewing" had become a verb used casually by teenagers who may never have heard of orthotropics or Dr. Mew.

The Theory Behind Mewing

To evaluate whether mewing works, it helps to understand the biological mechanisms it claims to leverage.

Wolff's law and bone remodeling

The foundational principle behind mewing is Wolff's law, which states that bone adapts to the mechanical loads placed upon it. This is well-established science — it is why weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones and why astronauts lose bone density in microgravity. The mewing hypothesis extends this principle to the facial skeleton: if the tongue consistently applies upward and forward pressure against the palate, the bones of the midface should, over time, remodel in response.

The logic is sound in principle. The question is whether the forces involved are sufficient to produce meaningful remodeling in the specific context of facial bones.

Craniofacial development and oral posture

There is legitimate scientific support for the idea that oral posture influences facial development — specifically in children. Research has consistently demonstrated that chronic mouth breathing in children is associated with altered facial growth patterns, including longer faces, narrower palates, more recessed midfaces, and increased likelihood of malocclusion (bite problems). Studies comparing nasal breathers to mouth breathers show measurable differences in craniofacial morphology.

The mechanism is well-understood in pediatric contexts: during growth, the tongue exerts a lateral and upward force on the developing palate. When the tongue rests on the floor of the mouth (as in habitual mouth breathing), this force is absent, and the palate develops more narrowly. The cheeks, without the tongue's opposing force, exert inward pressure that further narrows the dental arch.

Where the evidence becomes much thinner is in extending these developmental findings to adults. The facial bones of a growing child are fundamentally different from those of a fully developed adult. Pediatric bones have active growth plates, are less densely mineralized, and are far more responsive to mechanical forces. The adult facial skeleton, by contrast, has completed its growth and is significantly more resistant to remodeling from the relatively modest forces the tongue can generate.

What Does the Research Say?

This is where honest assessment requires separating what we know from what we wish we knew.

Myofunctional therapy evidence

Myofunctional therapy — a broader field that includes tongue posture exercises, swallowing pattern correction, and lip and cheek exercises — has a more substantial evidence base than mewing specifically. Studies have shown that myofunctional therapy can be effective as an adjunct to orthodontic treatment, can help address sleep-disordered breathing in children, and can improve tongue posture and nasal breathing habits.

However, the outcomes measured in these studies are typically functional (improved breathing, better swallowing patterns, reduced orthodontic relapse) rather than aesthetic (visible changes in jawline definition or facial proportions). The leap from "myofunctional therapy improves oral function" to "mewing will restructure your adult face" is a significant one that the current evidence does not fully support.

What the evidence supports

The following claims have reasonable scientific backing:

Tongue posture influences facial development in children. Multiple studies confirm that oral posture during the growth period affects craniofacial morphology. This is perhaps the strongest evidence in mewing's favor, though it applies to developing, not developed, faces.

Nasal breathing is superior to mouth breathing. Research consistently shows that habitual nasal breathing is associated with better craniofacial development, improved sleep quality, and better oxygen exchange. Switching from mouth breathing to nasal breathing is a genuinely beneficial change regardless of any facial restructuring claims.

Oral posture can be retrained. Myofunctional therapy studies demonstrate that habitual tongue posture and breathing patterns can be consciously changed, and that these changes can be maintained long-term with practice.

Evidence gaps

The following claims lack strong peer-reviewed support:

Mewing causes measurable bone restructuring in adults. There are no published randomized controlled trials demonstrating that mewing — defined as consciously maintaining tongue-on-palate posture — produces statistically significant changes in adult facial bone structure. The anecdotal before-and-after photos circulating online, while sometimes compelling, are subject to differences in lighting, angle, body fat, facial hair, and photographic conditions that make them unreliable as evidence.

Mewing can correct malocclusion or jaw recession in adults. These are skeletal and dental issues that typically require professional orthodontic or surgical intervention. Self-treating structural jaw problems with tongue posture alone is unlikely to produce meaningful results and may delay appropriate treatment.

Specific timelines for results. Claims that mewing produces visible results in a specific number of months are not supported by any controlled research. The timelines circulating in online communities are based entirely on anecdotal reports.

Realistic Expectations by Age

Age is the single most important variable in determining whether mewing might produce any structural effect. This is not opinion — it follows directly from the biology of bone development and remodeling.

Under 18: The window of opportunity

Children and adolescents have the most potential to benefit from mewing, because their facial bones are still actively growing and are more responsive to mechanical forces. If a teenager is habitually mouth breathing and has poor tongue posture, correcting these habits during the growth period could plausibly influence how their face develops.

This is also the age group where professional guidance matters most. If a young person has genuine craniofacial development concerns — a narrow palate, crowded teeth, a recessed jaw — they should see an orthodontist or orthotropic practitioner rather than relying on self-directed mewing from internet videos. Professional palatal expansion, functional appliances, and guided growth modification have stronger evidence bases and can produce more predictable results during the developmental window.

Realistic expectation: Correcting oral posture during growth may contribute positively to facial development, but should be combined with professional guidance for any structural concerns.

Ages 18-25: Diminishing returns

Between 18 and 25, most facial growth is complete, but some bone remodeling capacity remains. The sutures of the skull and face have not fully fused in many individuals, and there is evidence that the mandible (lower jaw) can continue to remodel modestly into the early twenties.

This means that mewing during this age range could theoretically produce subtle changes, but expectations should be calibrated dramatically downward from what online communities suggest. Any changes would be gradual, subtle, and difficult to distinguish from normal maturational changes that occur during this period (faces naturally become slightly more angular through the early twenties as residual subcutaneous fat decreases).

Realistic expectation: Possible subtle improvements over extended periods, but difficult to attribute specifically to mewing versus natural maturation and other lifestyle factors.

Ages 25 and above: Minimal structural change expected

By age 25, the facial skeleton is essentially fully developed. The sutures have largely fused, bone density has peaked, and the capacity for remodeling in response to the forces the tongue can generate is minimal. This does not mean there is zero biological response — bone is always undergoing some degree of remodeling — but the magnitude of change is unlikely to be aesthetically perceptible.

That said, mewing may still provide indirect benefits for this age group. Improved nasal breathing can reduce facial puffiness and under-eye circles. Better overall head and neck posture (which often accompanies conscious oral posture correction) can change how the jawline presents without altering the bone itself. And reduced mouth breathing during sleep may improve sleep quality, which affects skin and facial appearance.

Realistic expectation: Adopt proper tongue posture as a general health practice, but do not expect visible structural facial changes. Focus softmaxxing efforts on interventions with stronger evidence bases for adults — skincare, body composition, grooming, and styling. Our softmaxxing guide covers these in detail.

How to Mew Correctly

If you decide to practice mewing — and given that it is free and carries no risk when done correctly, there is little reason not to — here is the proper technique.

Step-by-step technique

1. Find the correct tongue position. Say the word "sing" and hold the "ng" sound. Notice where the back of your tongue contacts the roof of your mouth. This is approximately where the posterior third of your tongue should rest during mewing.

2. Place the entire tongue against the palate. Not just the tip — the entire surface of the tongue, from tip to the back third, should rest against the roof of the mouth. The tip of the tongue should sit just behind the upper front teeth without touching them.

3. Seal your lips. Your lips should be together and relaxed, not pressed tightly.

4. Teeth position. Your teeth should be lightly touching or very slightly apart. Do not clench.

5. Breathe through your nose. Nasal breathing is a core component. If you have difficulty breathing through your nose (due to congestion, deviated septum, or enlarged turbinates), address this separately — potentially with medical help — rather than forcing it.

6. Maintain this position. The goal is to make this your default resting posture, not something you do for set periods. Initially you will need to remind yourself consciously; over weeks and months, it should become habitual.

Common mistakes

Applying excessive force. Mewing is about posture, not force. You are resting your tongue against the palate, not pressing hard. Excessive force can cause headaches, TMJ discomfort, and jaw tension.

Only engaging the tip. The most common mistake is placing only the tip of the tongue against the palate while the rest sits on the floor of the mouth. The posterior third is the portion that matters most for palatal pressure, and it is the hardest to engage consistently.

Clenching the jaw. Mewing should involve a relaxed jaw. If you find yourself clenching your teeth or tensing your masseter muscles, you are doing it wrong. This can lead to TMJ problems, headaches, and tooth damage over time.

Neglecting nasal breathing. Mewing without addressing mouth breathing misses a key component. If you habitually breathe through your mouth, particularly during sleep, this is worth investigating — it may have causes (nasal obstruction, allergies, sleep apnea) that benefit from medical attention.

Expecting quick results. This leads to frustration, inconsistency, and the temptation to apply more force. Even under the most optimistic interpretation of the evidence, any structural changes from mewing would occur over months to years, not days to weeks.

What Mewing Can and Cannot Do

Being honest about the limitations of any technique is more useful than hype, so here is a direct assessment.

What mewing can plausibly do

Improve your resting oral posture. This is the most well-supported benefit. Resting your tongue on the palate and breathing through your nose is generally healthier than the alternative, independent of any facial restructuring claims.

Encourage nasal breathing. Switching from habitual mouth breathing to nasal breathing has documented health benefits: improved air filtration, better humidification of inhaled air, increased nitric oxide production, and potentially improved sleep quality.

Improve head and neck posture. Proper tongue posture is mechanically linked to head position. People who adopt correct oral posture often find that their overall head carriage improves, reducing forward head posture. This alone can change how the jawline presents to others.

Provide a low-cost, zero-risk habit. When practiced correctly (without excessive force or clenching), mewing costs nothing and poses no risk. At worst, it is neutral.

What mewing almost certainly cannot do

Dramatically restructure an adult face. The adult facial skeleton is not sufficiently malleable to undergo visible restructuring from tongue pressure alone. If your goal is a substantially different jaw or midface, evidence-based options like orthodontics or orthognathic surgery are the appropriate paths.

Replace orthodontic treatment. Crowded teeth, significant malocclusion, and skeletal jaw discrepancies require professional intervention. Attempting to self-treat these with mewing delays appropriate care and can lead to worsening problems.

Produce rapid, dramatic before-and-after transformations. The striking before-and-after photos common in mewing communities are almost certainly influenced by confounding variables: weight loss, puberty, better lighting, different angles, facial hair changes, and the simple passage of time during a period when faces naturally mature.

Widen the palate in adults. Palatal expansion in adults typically requires orthodontic appliances (such as MARPE — mini-screw assisted rapid palatal expansion) that generate forces far greater than the tongue can produce. Claims that mewing can widen the adult palate are not supported by evidence.

How Mewing Affects Your PSL Score

If you are using PSLScore to track your facial aesthetics, it is worth understanding which specific PSL features mewing claims to influence — and how realistic those changes are.

Jawline definition

Mewing's most frequently cited aesthetic goal is a more defined jawline. In PSL analysis, jawline score reflects gonial angle sharpness, jaw width relative to the face, and the overall contour from ear to chin. Proponents argue that sustained tongue pressure against the palate promotes lateral maxillary growth, which can widen the jaw and sharpen the gonial angle over time. In younger individuals whose bones are still developing, this is plausible. For adults, any jawline changes are more likely to come from reduced facial bloating (a side effect of improved nasal breathing) than from actual bone remodeling. Our jawline analysis guide breaks down exactly how jawline scoring works and what constitutes a strong result.

Midface ratio and forward growth

Mewing theory holds that consistent palatal pressure encourages forward (rather than downward) maxillary growth, which affects the midface ratio — the vertical distance between the brow and the upper lip relative to overall facial height. A shorter, more compact midface is generally associated with higher PSL scores. While the underlying principle has some developmental basis in children, the adult maxilla is highly resistant to repositioning through tongue pressure alone. You can learn more about how this measurement works in our midface analysis guide.

Chin projection

Improved tongue posture is mechanically linked to mandibular position. When the tongue rests on the palate, the jaw tends to sit in a slightly more forward position, which can improve the appearance of chin projection. This is partly postural (and therefore immediate) and partly theoretical (long-term bone adaptation). PSLScore measures chin projection as part of its profile analysis, so any genuine changes — whether postural or structural — would be captured in your scores over time.

Tracking changes with PSLScore

One of the biggest problems with mewing progress claims is the lack of objective measurement. Before-and-after photos taken months apart are unreliable due to differences in lighting, angle, body composition, and camera distance. Calculate your jawline, midface, and chin measurements to establish an objective baseline before you start. PSLScore provides a standardized, repeatable way to measure the specific facial features that mewing targets. If you are committed to mewing, taking PSLScore measurements at consistent intervals (every three to six months, using the same lighting and camera setup) gives you objective data rather than subjective impressions. If your jawline score, midface ratio, or chin projection are improving, the numbers will show it — and if they are not, that is valuable information too.

Alternatives That Have Stronger Evidence

If you are interested in improving your jawline and facial aesthetics, several approaches have significantly stronger evidence bases than mewing.

Body fat reduction. Lowering your body fat percentage is the single most effective way to improve jawline definition. Subcutaneous facial fat obscures bone structure, and reducing it reveals the jaw, cheekbones, and facial angles underneath. This is well-documented, universally applicable, and produces visible results within three to six months. See our softmaxxing guide for the details.

Orthodontic treatment. For issues involving bite alignment, jaw position, or dental crowding, professional orthodontic treatment (braces, clear aligners, or functional appliances) produces predictable, measurable results. Modern orthodontics can address many of the same concerns that people hope mewing will fix, with the advantage of professional monitoring and evidence-based protocols.

Orthognathic surgery. For significant skeletal discrepancies — a severely recessed chin, a markedly asymmetric jaw, or structural bite problems — orthognathic surgery is the evidence-based intervention. It is invasive and requires significant recovery, but it produces reliable structural changes that no amount of tongue posture can replicate.

Skincare and grooming. Improving skin quality, optimizing your hairstyle, and maintaining consistent grooming habits can meaningfully impact your overall facial aesthetics even if your bone structure remains unchanged. These interventions are accessible, affordable, and have well-documented effects. Our looksmaxxing guide covers the full hierarchy.

Posture correction. Forward head posture — common among people who spend hours looking at screens — changes how the jawline presents and can make the chin appear recessed. Correcting this through targeted exercises and ergonomic adjustments is free, evidence-based, and can visibly improve how your jaw looks to others.

Medical disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you have concerns about your facial development, jaw alignment, or breathing patterns, consult a qualified orthodontist, maxillofacial surgeon, or ENT specialist. Do not attempt to self-treat structural or medical conditions based on internet content.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does mewing take to show results?

The honest answer is that there is no scientifically established timeline because there are no controlled studies measuring outcomes from mewing over defined periods. Anecdotal reports from online communities suggest six to twelve months for subtle changes in younger individuals, but these reports are confounded by simultaneous changes in body composition, maturation, grooming, and photographic conditions. For adults over 25, the expectation should be that structural changes from tongue posture alone will be minimal to nonexistent, regardless of duration. The benefits of mewing for adults are more likely to manifest as improved breathing, better posture, and reduced facial puffiness from nasal breathing — all of which can subtly improve facial appearance without actually changing bone structure.

Can mewing fix a recessed chin?

A recessed chin is a skeletal condition — the mandible (lower jaw) sits further back relative to the upper jaw than is ideal. Mewing, which primarily affects the palate and tongue position, does not apply meaningful force to the mandible. For adults with chin recession, the evidence-based options are orthodontic treatment (to address bite alignment that may be contributing to the recession) or orthognathic surgery (genioplasty or sliding genioplasty to physically advance the chin). In children and adolescents, functional appliances that guide jaw growth may be effective. Attempting to address a structural skeletal issue with tongue posture alone is very unlikely to produce meaningful results and may delay appropriate professional treatment.

Is mewing dangerous?

Proper tongue posture — resting the tongue against the palate with lips closed and breathing through the nose — is not dangerous. It is, in fact, considered the anatomically correct resting position of the tongue by most dental and orthodontic professionals. The dangers arise from common mistakes: applying excessive upward force (which can cause headaches and palatal soreness), clenching the jaw (which can lead to TMJ disorders, tooth wear, and chronic jaw pain), or attempting to self-treat genuine orthodontic problems without professional guidance. If you experience jaw pain, clicking, persistent headaches, or tooth sensitivity while mewing, you are likely applying too much force or clenching. Reduce the effort, focus on relaxed posture rather than forceful pressing, and consult a dental professional if symptoms persist.

Should I mew with my mouth closed?

Yes. Mewing by definition involves lip seal and nasal breathing. The tongue rests against the palate, the lips are together (not pressed tight — just lightly touching), and the teeth are in light contact or very slightly apart. Mouth breathing is generally considered detrimental to both facial development and general health. If you find it difficult to breathe through your nose — whether due to chronic congestion, a deviated septum, or enlarged adenoids — this is worth discussing with an ENT specialist. Nasal obstruction is a medical issue with medical solutions, and resolving it provides benefits far beyond anything related to mewing.

Does mewing work for women?

The principles of proper tongue posture are not gender-specific. The anatomy of the palate, the mechanics of tongue positioning, and the biology of bone remodeling apply equally regardless of gender. That said, the same evidence limitations apply universally — dramatic structural facial changes from tongue posture in adults are unlikely for anyone. Women interested in improving their facial aesthetics will typically see far more impactful results from the same softmaxxing fundamentals that apply to everyone: optimizing skincare for their skin type, finding a hairstyle that complements their face shape, maintaining a healthy body composition, and addressing any specific concerns (such as canthal tilt or midface proportions) through evidence-based methods.

Does mewing improve PSL score?

Mewing may modestly improve PSL-relevant features over time, but the degree depends almost entirely on your age and starting point. The PSL features most likely to be affected are jawline definition, midface ratio, and chin projection — all of which are directly measured by PSLScore. For individuals under 18, where facial bones are still growing, consistent proper tongue posture could plausibly contribute to better development of these features, which would be reflected in higher PSL scores over time. For adults, the structural changes from mewing are likely too subtle to move PSL scores meaningfully. That said, the indirect benefits — reduced facial bloating from nasal breathing, improved head posture that presents the jawline more favorably — can make a perceptible difference in how your face photographs and scores. The most productive approach is to use PSLScore as an objective tracking tool: take measurements every three to six months under consistent conditions and let the data tell you whether mewing is contributing to measurable change.

Which PSL features does mewing affect?

Mewing primarily targets three PSL-scored features. First, jawline definition: the gonial angle, jaw width, and overall jaw contour that PSLScore evaluates as part of its jawline analysis. Mewing claims to sharpen the gonial angle and widen the jaw through palatal expansion. Second, midface ratio: the vertical proportion of the midface, which mewing theoretically improves by encouraging forward rather than downward maxillary growth — a shorter midface generally scores higher. Our midface analysis guide explains this measurement in detail. Third, chin projection: the forward position of the chin relative to the rest of the facial profile. Mewing may improve this both posturally (the jaw sits more forward when the tongue is on the palate) and, in younger individuals, through gradual mandibular adaptation. Secondary effects may include improved facial symmetry from balanced muscle engagement. For a complete breakdown of all PSL features and how to improve your PSL score, see our dedicated guides.