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Hi everyone, I am a 15 year old who started mewing about a half a year ago, and I must say I do consider myself lucky that I have been able to get this knowledge "early". I have also seen good postural change especially in the shoulder and neck area, and also learnt how to unblock my nostrils along the way. I have no extractions, however my bottom wisdom teeth already look like they're impacted in the xray (no upper wisdoms yet). Also on another note, my inter-molar width has remained ~40mm from when I started. Would it be recommended to use mechanical expansion, or should I be more patient, I heard the jaw stops "growing" around 16 so I thought it should be a good idea to be able to get as much growth as possible before that (or maybe my jaw is already anatomically like an adult?). I also have a shorter ramus on the right side due to bruxing
If your intermolar width is really 40mm, you're better off than most of us, and should have enough space to get your tongue into the correct posture. The tongue is the best option for expansion if you can position it correctly, especially if you're still growing. Myofunctional therapy might be worth considering to habituate the correct posture. If you struggle with inadequate space to get your tongue into position, devices might be useful. Although you're probably unlikely to find a conventional orthodontist who would use a palate expander when your intermolar width is already that wide. You could seek out a functional orthodontist who might be more receptive to alternative treatment plans.
You are lucky for being made aware of mewing this early. That combined w/ your 40mm imw is going to make this stuff a lot easier for you.
"Important note; modern adults (or anyone over the age of 9) tend to have a molar width of 29 to 34mm. Anyone with 35 to 38mm will find it much easier but still very hard to make progressive improvements without any formal therapy, and as a rule of thumb when I finish therapy any one who can maintain 38mm or more without retainers tends to maintain good alignment almost indefinitely, with a minimal effort. During childrens treatment expand to 42mm for a girl and 44mm for a boy, clearly some of this is tipping of the molars. Ancient man had an inter-molar width in the high 40's to low 50's."
- Mike Mew
I started at around the same imw as you about 4 months ago, except at the ripe old age of 23 and I was struggling to make results despite tongue posture being rather easy to maintain throughout the waking day. I only started to get rapid results when I began introducing exercises and techniques such as;
Hard chewing gum - Increasing masseter and tongue strength makes being able to mew while asleep feasible and makes awake posture effortless. When you go to sleep and you don't maintain proper oral posture you are effectively erasing a lot of the work you did throughout the day. 2 steps forward and 1 step back sorta shit. In our modern western lives we don't really chew tough foods anymore for long lengths of time unlike our not-too-distant ancestors and as a result our oral muscles are weak and can't do their myofunctional jobs properly. I swear by Falim gum which is highly affordable off of somewhere like ebay and is very hard when it is chewed with ice-water. I do it for about an hour each day. Increasing your tongue strength well help you fixing your bruxing. The tongue and jaw are antagonistic forces which means they need to be balanced out.
Large Bolus Chewing/Introduction 1 By Dr Mike Mew
Open Mouth Chewing - A very recent technique where you don't engage your buccinators (cheeks) or your lips when chewing. Has the benefit of making chewing substantially harder by putting a higher load onto your masseter and makes your cheeks/lips less puffy via atrophy. It will make your face appear substantially more defined and chiseled. Personally, I believe it is superior to closed mouth chewing as do many others here. A few people here aren't as convinced but I don't think I've seen any hard reasons against it, though.
Hard OMC is imo a critical augmentation to your oral posture regime and think everyone should be doing it.
McKenzie chin tuck - A posture technique which repairs neck alignment and has many benefits but in regards to mewing, it enhances the upwards forces of your jaw and tongue which makes mewing more powerful. You should be doing it all the time you're awake if you can help it. It can also be done at night if you are lying on your back with no pillows but it is also possible on your side (but harder to maintain)
Imo another mandatory exercise that everyone should practice. No downside to it as far as I'm aware other than it makes you look inbred while you practice it.
Thumb pulling - A manual expansion technique that involves pressing firmly on the inner-side of your teeth, gums and palate outwards and forwards to stimulate growth. Every 1 to 1.5 hours I do it for about 1 or 2 minutes at a time from when I wake to the moment before I go to bed. It has rapidly increased my gains. I'm now at about 45mm IMW in the past couple of months and I accredit it mainly to this technique. It's like an expansion device except is it free and pretty easy to do. I think it is low risk also. The downsides of it is that it requires vigilance and dedication and isn't exactly fun.
I would suggest this technique for intermediate mewers once they have a solid understanding of oral functions.
Belt pulling - Another manual expansion technique that involves clenching hard on a leather/braided belt or plastic bag and pulling upwards and forwards away from your face, hard. I've only started this fairly recently but it seems to be rapidly up-swinging my lower jaw. I know because my bottom incisors are starting to press laterally against my top ones; indicating that my jaw is coming forward more. My maxilla is also coming forward because my dorsal hump is almost entirely flat now and my Mew indicator line is decreasing. It's also fixing my clicky jaw. I do this at the same time and rate as my Thumb Pulling regime.
https://wholebodybreathing.com/community/community/main-forum/face-pulling/#post-3902 **
This is how our Keengo does it. While I think the technique is good I disagree with the doing it once daily for a long period instead of short bursts many times a day. The latter is less exhausting, less likely to hurt yourself and I feel like it is more effective for the same reasons as the Thumb Pulling one. I try to do my exercises in accordance with Wolff's law.
This is an advanced technique because of the potential risk involved. While I think it is very effective it probably shouldn't be attempted by n00bs or someone as young as yourself. I'd wait until you finish puberty, by which time you probably will have gotten great results from mewing already.
So should you buy mechanical expansion? I seldom think it's a good idea except in the most extreme of cases. They are extremely expensive, cumbersome and while they can help in some things they oftentimes are directly counterproductive in other areas. You are young and are in what appears like a very good starting position for improved oral posture (all teeth intact and good inter molar width) I think you should be spending money on more important things like girls and trading cards or marbles etc
Thanks for the detailed replies. I agree that the expander is probably not necessary, however even though my width is 40mm, the front looks collapsed, this is from downwards growth I presume? Pic attatched, also note the peg incisor that stops crowding, should I get that filled later?
I think you will achieve results with mewing and other oral posture techniques. I wouldn't concern yourself with orthodontic work for now
You are lucky for being made aware of mewing this early. That combined w/ your 40mm imw is going to make this stuff a lot easier for you.
"Important note; modern adults (or anyone over the age of 9) tend to have a molar width of 29 to 34mm. Anyone with 35 to 38mm will find it much easier but still very hard to make progressive improvements without any formal therapy, and as a rule of thumb when I finish therapy any one who can maintain 38mm or more without retainers tends to maintain good alignment almost indefinitely, with a minimal effort. During childrens treatment expand to 42mm for a girl and 44mm for a boy, clearly some of this is tipping of the molars. Ancient man had an inter-molar width in the high 40's to low 50's."
- Mike Mew
I started at around the same imw as you about 4 months ago, except at the ripe old age of 23 and I was struggling to make results despite tongue posture being rather easy to maintain throughout the waking day. I only started to get rapid results when I began introducing exercises and techniques such as;
Hard chewing gum - Increasing masseter and tongue strength makes being able to mew while asleep feasible and makes awake posture effortless. When you go to sleep and you don't maintain proper oral posture you are effectively erasing a lot of the work you did throughout the day. 2 steps forward and 1 step back sorta shit. In our modern western lives we don't really chew tough foods anymore for long lengths of time unlike our not-too-distant ancestors and as a result our oral muscles are weak and can't do their myofunctional jobs properly. I swear by Falim gum which is highly affordable off of somewhere like ebay and is very hard when it is chewed with ice-water. I do it for about an hour each day. Increasing your tongue strength well help you fixing your bruxing. The tongue and jaw are antagonistic forces which means they need to be balanced out.
Large Bolus Chewing/Introduction 1 By Dr Mike Mew
Open Mouth Chewing - A very recent technique where you don't engage your buccinators (cheeks) or your lips when chewing. Has the benefit of making chewing substantially harder by putting a higher load onto your masseter and makes your cheeks/lips less puffy via atrophy. It will make your face appear substantially more defined and chiseled. Personally, I believe it is superior to closed mouth chewing as do many others here. A few people here aren't as convinced but I don't think I've seen any hard reasons against it, though.
Hard OMC is imo a critical augmentation to your oral posture regime and think everyone should be doing it.
McKenzie chin tuck - A posture technique which repairs neck alignment and has many benefits but in regards to mewing, it enhances the upwards forces of your jaw and tongue which makes mewing more powerful. You should be doing it all the time you're awake if you can help it. It can also be done at night if you are lying on your back with no pillows but it is also possible on your side (but harder to maintain)
Imo another mandatory exercise that everyone should practice. No downside to it as far as I'm aware other than it makes you look inbred while you practice it.
Thumb pulling - A manual expansion technique that involves pressing firmly on the inner-side of your teeth, gums and palate outwards and forwards to stimulate growth. Every 1 to 1.5 hours I do it for about 1 or 2 minutes at a time from when I wake to the moment before I go to bed. It has rapidly increased my gains. I'm now at about 45mm IMW in the past couple of months and I accredit it mainly to this technique. It's like an expansion device except is it free and pretty easy to do. I think it is low risk also. The downsides of it is that it requires vigilance and dedication and isn't exactly fun.
I would suggest this technique for intermediate mewers once they have a solid understanding of oral functions.
Belt pulling - Another manual expansion technique that involves clenching hard on a leather/braided belt or plastic bag and pulling upwards and forwards away from your face, hard. I've only started this fairly recently but it seems to be rapidly up-swinging my lower jaw. I know because my bottom incisors are starting to press laterally against my top ones; indicating that my jaw is coming forward more. My maxilla is also coming forward because my dorsal hump is almost entirely flat now and my Mew indicator line is decreasing. It's also fixing my clicky jaw. I do this at the same time and rate as my Thumb Pulling regime.
https://wholebodybreathing.com/community/community/main-forum/face-pulling/#post-3902 **
This is how our Keengo does it. While I think the technique is good I disagree with the doing it once daily for a long period instead of short bursts many times a day. The latter is less exhausting, less likely to hurt yourself and I feel like it is more effective for the same reasons as the Thumb Pulling one. I try to do my exercises in accordance with Wolff's law.
This is an advanced technique because of the potential risk involved. While I think it is very effective it probably shouldn't be attempted by n00bs or someone as young as yourself. I'd wait until you finish puberty, by which time you probably will have gotten great results from mewing already.
So should you buy mechanical expansion? I seldom think it's a good idea except in the most extreme of cases. They are extremely expensive, cumbersome and while they can help in some things they oftentimes are directly counterproductive in other areas. You are young and are in what appears like a very good starting position for improved oral posture (all teeth intact and good inter molar width) I think you should be spending money on more important things like girls and trading cards or marbles etc
Amazing post.
If you don't mind can you make a post in the thumb pulling thread talking about the changes you have seen, the gains you have made, and what your technique is?
I see you made some posts about a month ago when you got started and I was wondering if you changed anything up and if your gains have been consistent since then.