Are you one of the people who is self-conscious about their double chin? If so, the idea of being able to correct this without going through surgery probably interests you. That’s good, that’s precisely the promise of mewinga technique that has been very popular for several months on TikTok.
Behind this rather obscure name hides an exercise in placing the tongue against the palate which would, among other things, reshape the chin but also reduce wrinkles. We asked Dr. Pascale Fournier, orthodontist, to explain the practice of mewing in detail and give us your opinion on its effects.
What is mewing?
Before going viral on TikTok, THE mewing is a technique developed by a British orthodontist named John Mew, which aims to change the position of the jaw via a change in the placement of the tongue. Concretely, it is “consciously place the tongue on the palate, without it touching the front teeth, and apply regular rhythmic pressure on the palate in order to stick the tongue there using a suction cup effect“, as Dr. Fournier explains. She emphasizes that it is in reality the “natural physiological posture of the tongue“, the one that one should have adopted since birth. The normal position of the tongue – stuck to the palate – involves nasal breathing, which is only possible with a liberated nose. She therefore recommends cleaning it at water at least 3 times a day (more if you have difficulty breathing through your nose).
And if certain aesthetic benefits of mewing are praised, the orthodontist especially reminds that good tongue posture is associated with better breathing, therefore potentially better sleep, and with better general posture: “Properly placing your tongue will lead to better positioning of the head, which conditions the curvature of the cervical, therefore dorsal and lumbar, and reduces pain in these areas.“.
Wrinkles and double chin: is mewing effective?
On social networks, THE mewing is touted as being able to “correct” a double chin and make wrinkles disappear (without any scientific study demonstrating the impact of mewingon the placement of the jaw, editor’s note). For our expert, the reality is a little different: “THE double chin is the clinical sign of a certain number of postural disorders“, she affirms, indicating that by placing the tongue on the palate, the chin is necessarily more toned, but that THE mewing probably won’t completely erase a double chin.
What about wrinkles? The expert recognizes that deep wrinkles are often linked to bad muscular habits. “In the more or less long term, good placement of the tongue associated with good alternating bilateral chewing leads to better irrigation of the masticatory muscles and therefore better nourished cells. We can therefore imagine that the mewing could impact deep wrinklesbut I think above all that it is the posture overall which gives a more youthful appearance.”
Is mewing dangerous?
If the mewing is not a miracle method for erasing a double chin or wrinkles, one might wonder if the practice could prove dangerous? For Dr. Fournier, it is of no benefit to people who have good basic posture and good chewing, and may even cause jaw problems if you clench your teeth too much while doing the mewing (which would wear out the teeth and tire the jaws, the teeth normally only being in contact when swallowing).
But “if you are used to breathing through your mouth, poor body and facial postures and your tongue is naturally in a low posture, then yes, it is interesting to work on a high tongue posture, either on the palate constantly“, she indicates. She specifies, however, that this work must be done with a specialist in orofacial functionseither an orthodontist, an etiological functional orthodontist or an orofacial physiotherapist.
Thanks to Dr. Pascale Fournier, orthodontist.