The world of social media is a closet full of trends, so full that one or the other keeps jumping out and surprising the users with its lustrous effectiveness. In the era of physical fitness, where most people live and breathe a gym life, a new trend has taken the social media world by storm.
Influencers have been promoting an exercise called ‘mewing’ which they say can help achieve a chiselled jawline and defined chin. But is this really true, or is mewing another one of the many social media fads? Let’s find out!

What is Mewing?

Mewing was invented by British orthodontist John Mew in the 1970s, hence the name, as a way of naturally shaping tooth alignment. While there’s no prescribed way of Mewing, the steps recommended generally are as follows:
Close your mouth and seal your lips, with your teeth just slightly touching and not clinching.
Now, place the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth.
Suction and flatten your tongue against the roof of your mouth and breathe through your nose.
Repeat this exercise various times a day.

Will mewing really give you a shaped jawline and chiselled jaw?

Image credits: X/@Orthotropics

Well, the experts say no. Health experts define a good oral posture as a natural and unconscious position in which the tip of the tongue rests on the roof of the mouth, behind the front teeth.
If a person does not have a posture exact or similar to this, then they have to visit an orthodontist as “correcting misaligned teeth and restructuring jawline is a complex process that involves moving jaw bones, other facial bones and soft tissue,” said John Callahan, president of the American Association of Orthodontists to the Washington Post.
Joel Kopelman, a facial plastic surgeon in New York City and Palm Beach, Florida added that in adults, “bone structure is set. I don’t care how much you press your tongue to the roof of your mouth-its not going to dramatically change your jawline,” he added.

What are the risks of mewing?

Those before and after photos you see on social media of how effective mewing is? Well, experts state that there can be no major difference and probably angling and lighting play a major role in such reveals, as they do in most. While mewing may not have any science-backed positive effects, experts say it can have many negative ones.
The American Association of Orthodontists warned in 2024 that the “unregulated practice” can lead to serious dental concerns such as loose teeth, misaligned bites and speech difficulties due to the altered tongue placement. Excessive pressure on the teeth and jaw can force the natural alignment of the teeth to move, and this can lead to bite problems such as underbites, overbites and open bites. The displacement of teeth also affects the flow of air through the mouth when speaking, thus causing speech discomforts.