Mewing (orthotropics)
Purported form of oral posture training
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mewing is an unproven form of oral posture training purported to improve jaw and facial structure.[1][2] It was named after British orthodontist John Mew, who created the technique as a part of a practice called "orthotropics", together with his son Mike.[3][4] It involves placing one's tongue at the roof of the mouth and applying pressure, purportedly to modify the structure of the jaws.[5][6]
No credible scientific research has ever proven the efficacy of orthotropics,[3] and most orthodontists do not view mewing as a viable alternative treatment to orthognathic surgery.[1][7] Mike Mew was expelled from the British Orthodontic Society[3] and faced a misconduct hearing for posing harm to child patients who underwent his treatments.[8][9] In 2024, Mew was struck from the dental register in the United Kingdom.[4]
Since 2019, mewing has received widespread media coverage due to its virality on social media,[10] especially in incel and looksmaxxing subcultures, and has been associated with "brain rot".[3][11][12] 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.[13][14][clarification needed]
See also
