Are Mewing Results Permanent? Yes, But Only If You Do This
If you’ve decided to start mewing, then hopefully you understand that mewing is not a quick fix. But is it a permanent one?
Like any other type of exercise, mewing results can be permanent, assuming you maintain a good mewing practice. That said, if you completely stop mewing, then over time, you will stop seeing results.
If you’re wondering if your mewing results will be permanent, then it’s possible you misunderstand the whole concept of mewing. Here’s what you need to know.
Mewing Is Not A Quick Fix
“It’s effectively compound interest.”
These are the words of Dr. Mew, the orthotropic dentist famously credited for popularizing the practice of ‘mewing’ (otherwise known as good, healthy tongue posture). He’s stressing that mewing has many, many benefits—but they take time.
Mewing is one part of the orthotropic premise, which states that tongue and oral posture, plus nose breathing and jaw exercises, are the way to good facial growth. Doctors like Dr. Mew use removable devices to expand the palate of young children (instead of extracting teeth and using braces) to fix teeth misalignment.
The goal with orthotropic dentistry is to start as young as possible to help straighten teeth and guide the proper facial development. That’s because young faces are still growing. The idea is to guide that development, to avoid problems down the line.
So for young children being treated in this way, the results will be permanent, just like presumably any results from braces will be permanent.
But what if your parents never took you to an orthotropic dentist?
Mewing Results Are Often Quick For Teenagers
“I’ve been amazed at some of the results I’ve seen in people who are 17 or 18 or 19 years old,’ says Dr. Mew.
That’s because teenagers are still relatively young, and they’re still growing. They might not be quite as malleable as younger children, but they can still effect big changes on their facility development.
Plus, mewing is a weird process. I think it might be easier for teenagers to adapt to a mewing practice than it would be for someone who’s had decades and decades of poor tongue posture.
For these reasons, teenagers might start seeing physical results in as little as a few months.
Related: Mewing: How Long Until You See Results?
Are Mewing Results Permanent for Teenagers?
So, to the big question: are mewing results permanent for teenagers? The answer is yes and no.
If you start mewing young enough, then you’re affecting how your face develops. And since bone moves a lot more slowly when you’re older, then it’s logical to assume you’ll keep the bulk of any major changes you make when you’re younger.
But here’s the kicker: if you stop mewing, and you slip back into old, unhealthy habits, then (slowly, and over time), your results might start to slide back, too.
It’s like if you were to go to the gym and build lots of muscle. If you were to then stop working out completely, your muscle is going to stick around for a while. But eventually, you’ll lose all your gains.
Of course, bone is going to move and shift and atrophy a lot slower than muscle, but the idea is the same.
So if you stop mewing, and resume to your slack-jawed, mouth-breathing ways, then you can expect to lose all that beautiful new jawline definition and return to that receding chin over time. Even if you’re young.
Mewing Results Take Longer For Adults
If you’re like me, and you never heard of mewing until you were an adult, then don’t worry—there’s still hope.
“Facial appearance is not as set in stone as I think that we sometimes like to feel that it is,” says Dr. Mew. “You can change it, and you can change it for the positive, but it is hard work and it’s a long time.”
Believe it or not, your facial skeleton is not fixed, even when you’re a full-fledged grown-up. That means there’s room for growth.
The bones of your face are held together by joints called sutures. And this matters when it comes to facial appearance and structure, because these sutures are not all fused together—some don’t even fuse until you’re 68-72 years old. And you can build new bone at the sutures, even in adulthood (source).
In fact, according to Dr. Felix Liao, author of Six-Foot Tiger, Three Foot Cage, “the potential for maxilla-facial redevelopment is alive even late in adult life.”
According to Dr. Mew again, adults who mew ‘really, really well’ can see anywhere between one half of a millimeter to one millimeter of growth a year.
That might not seem like a lot. But mewing is a lifelong practice. So if you start now, you’re on your way to millimeters becoming centimeters, and towards a much stronger and attractive jawline over time.
Plus there’s lots of other benefits of mewing (like clearer sinuses, better sleep, and less snoring, to name a few).
Related: How Many Hours A Day Should You Mew?
Are Mewing Results Permanent For Adults?
You might be put off by how much slower your results will be, versus if you were to have started when you were younger.
But by the same token, the fact that bone changes more slowly when you’re an adult may be a blessing in disguise.
That’s because it’s going to be much harder to lose results as an adult, too.
So while it might take longer to see mewing results in adults, it’s going to take longer to lose them, too. In this way, mewing results can be more permanent for adults.
Mewing Results Should Be Permanent—If You Keep Mewing
So the bad news: you can definitely lose your mewing results over time, if you stop mewing completely.
The good news: once you get started, you’re not going to want to stop. That’s because mewing is really just good tongue posture.
Think about your sitting posture. You wouldn’t do the work of getting to a point of where you can maintain a healthy, straight back—and then go back to slouching as soon as you get there.
It’s the same with tongue posture. As humans, we’re supposed to use the muscles of our tongue to keep it pressed against the upper palate. Period. Keeping your tongue slack all day is just as bad as slouching all day.
Related: Where To Place The Tongue When Mewing
So the reality is that mewing should be a lifelong practice. And if you’re committed to mewing, then your results will be permanent.
Related Posts:
- Mewing: How Long Until You See Results?
- How Many Hours A Day Should You Mew?
- How To Tell If You’re Mewing Correctly: Signs To Look Out For
- Is Mewing When Sick Possible?
Related Questions:
Should You Stop Mewing?
In theory, if you are mewing properly, then you don’t need to stop. Of course, if you are experiencing any pain, you should stop mewing and speak to your dentist, as it’s possible you’re doing it incorrectly or have other underlying issues. You may want to stop hard mewing or excessive gum chewing if you have jaw problems or experiencing pain or discomfort.
How Long Do You Have To Mew?
‘Mewing’ is another work for good tongue posture, so you should try to maintain good tongue posture as much as possible (just like you try to maintain good back posture as much as possible). Mewing is a lifelong practice with many health benefits, so you should try to make it a daily habit.
How Long Does Mewing Take To Show Results?
Teenagers and young adults might see physical results from mewing in as little as a few months. Older adults might need up to a year or more to see changes in their face shape. That said, everyone can start to see health benefits of mewing pretty quickly.
Does Mewing Make Your Face Shorter?
Many people find that mewing helps make their face look shorter. By strengthening the jaw, it can also help add more symmetry to the face. When people start mewing, it is often to improve their facial appearance, although there are many health benefits to the practice as well.
Are Mewing Results Permanent?
Just like diet and exercise, mewing results can be permanent if you continue to practice mewing and maintain good tongue posture. Don’t worry, though—since mewing affects muscle and bone, you won’t lose any results from skipping a few days here or there.
