[Closed] Dr Mike Mew Q&A Thread #2

There was another thread where people began to ask questions and I said I would include them in the next Q&A. I've lost track of where that thread is, so if one of the users from that thread can dig it up for me post the link I would appreciate it  😊 

In your view, what is more important for a person to comfortably hold correct tongue posture. Lateral space, or intermolar width?

Thanks 

Posts containing questions for this next Q&A /community/community/main-forum/next-qa-response-video/

Initial/Previous questions: /community/community/main-forum/dr-mike-mew-qa-session/

Discussion of Answers: /community/community/main-forum/mike-mew-qa-response-video/

Does shifting the maxilla up and forward change the position of the lips in relation to the teeth? For example, does it reduce gingival exposure or hide more of the teeth under the upper lip when smiling? If not, does the soft tissue shift up or fill out as the underlying skeletal structure moves up and forward? Does the philtrum length decrease? Should those without any gingival exposure, or ginigival exposure in the back but not the front, Mew differently to prevent more of their teeth from being covered when they smile?

Does a torus palatinus and/or buccal exostoses have any impact on adult palate expansion? Is it still possible to separate the midpalatal suture with a torus palatinus? Will palate expansion reduce the prominence of either a torus palatinus or buccal exostoses?

Is there a set deadline for the questions to be completed and aggregated? Establishing one may improve participation.

If someone wants to seek treatment in addition to mewing, in what order would you recommend:

palate expansion (surgical or with a device)

bioblok

facepulling mask (reverse headgear)

Any others?

I have significant mid-face deficiency after having braces for 8 years. Besides having an impacted cuspid that’s was brought down with a bracket, I’m not sure why braces were on that long as my bite was fine. Bracket caused jaw assympytry in the horizontal and vertical plane. I have been mewing, but want to do more. Thank you! 

This question might not be within the scope of your field, but just how much did our ancestors chew, in terms of duration and toughness, compared to modern humans? Did chewing take up significantly more time in a day compared to today? What is the role of raw vs. cooked food in this equation; did they eat food raw more often? Finally, what would you say was the typical/average gonial angle of our hunter-gatherer ancestors?

Dr Mike, 1st of all, thank you so much for being the messenger and pioneer of such important knowledge. I am a young guy and alot of your work i have internalised. It has made a huge impact on my life. Thanks so much.

My questions:

1) How much mandible upswing is possible with alot of hardwork? Is there an estimated improvement in angular degrees over a set amount of time you can give?

2) Some cases the mandible have been dragged forward by a low-resting + thrusting tongue posture. This creates an obtuse gonial angle. Is there any way to drag back the mandible and not just achieve upswing? With exercise, different posture..

3) What is your opinion on reverse extraction procedures for premolars on the upper jaw and lower jaw?

Hi Mike,

I am currently coming up to my last week of my Invisalign treatment. I was wondering if there's any point in paying money for a retainer or should I just keep my current plates on for an extra week or so before starting strong tongue posture and chewing?

Kind regards,

Jake.

Posted by: Gregory

Is there a set deadline for the questions to be completed and aggregated? Establishing one may improve participation.

No hard deadline this time. I'll put up a warning a few days in advance of submitting however. 

What duration of time per day is it reasonable to chew very tough gum? Since we are going for skeletal changes I would think it'd be significant.

Best Regards

In long face individuals, the typical vertical maxillary excess means that more maxilla is present downward. In this case: is maxilla just shifted downward (but the overall length of the bone is normal), or the maxilla grew more downward making this overally longer too?

1. You mentioned in a couple recent videos that you have achieved great progress with adult treatment, when can we see new before and after samples, is it in the upcoming convention on September 6?

2. In your Vancouver 2016 presentation you discussed the head gear and hybrid appliance. What is the reason you would choose one over the other for a patient, is it their initial dental arch width or additional factors? 

3. Given that palatal expansion increases the dental arch width by expanding the maxilla bone from the suture, what other effects can be expected? Does the procedure also expands the nasal passages for example?

Thanks allot!

Hello, Doctor Mike. I only recently discovered the concept of Mewing and now that I've been made aware of how oral posture affects peoples faces I can observe others with new insight and perspective. I've been genuinely amazed at how often attractive people seem to have good oral posture and also at how often unattractive people don't. I'm now a firm believer in your cause.

My standard posture has always been lips closed but jaw slightly ajar and no tongue support. I'm now capable of keeping my jaw closed and tongue firmly up all waking day although my upper back teeth are slightly impacting my tongues ability to lay perfectly flush around my palette. It's still sufficient to block my mouths airway though and cover most of recommended area. I roughly measured the distance between the teeth and it seems to be around 39-40mm. I expect that the various forces imparted from my tongue and jaw will eventually increase this gap but I'm wondering if you would recommend some sort of expander etc. Hopefully its not necessary.

My second problem is that when I go to sleep my jaw resets to my usual, slightly ajar position and this of course in-turn makes my tongue fall down which I fear will make me lose out on my progress. I was considering using something under my chin to support my teeth being closed while asleep but I would imagine that this isn't a long term solution because doesn't help me build up strength. I think my jaws upwards force isn't sufficient enough to support it when I sleep so I am going to work on developing my jaw muscles with chew exercises etc. How much do you think progress I'm losing but having poor sleeping posture? Is there any other strategy you might recommend for this or any particular foods/chewing gums? 

Finally, I'm interested in how rampant you think inferior oral posture is becoming in our modernized, easy-chew world and what sort of percentage of people would you estimate to having great/bad/mouth-breathing posture? Also why do you think there is such a prevailing ignorance/obliviousness on the topic despite it being so potentially devastating? Surely this should be taught at home and in school?

Thank you very much to you and your dad for your heart-felt efforts on raising public awareness on this issue.

- Max

Reminder to self: Ask for update on use of ultrasound/pulse devices on stimulating bone growth at sutures

How can we create or own headgear and expansion setup that’s safe? There’s a strong urge to DIY because there are no or rarely any professional who will help (and I live in a major city on the West Coast!). 

We are familiar with palette expanded mostly, but what is the latest in headgear to help? Thank you ❤️ (I’ve been doing oral posture for over a year, but not seen maxilla forward movement despite my efforts by too much) 

Questions are going to be submitted within the next day, get them in if you have something to ask!

Hello Dr. Mew, thank you for all of the information that you have put online and for fighting the good fight. I have a few questions/ideas for your consideration.

1) Certain parts of the online community are starting to move towards a chewing technique called 'open mouth chewing' in which we chew gum and other things with our mouths open and our lips unsealed. We have noticed that chewing in this way leads to better aesthetic results (less cheek bloating), better muscle balance, and a pronounced feeling of activation and movement across the entire skull that doesn't happen otherwise. In my case, since implementing this my hollow cheeks have become much more prominent. I was wondering what your thoughts were on this technique and if you were willing to experiment with it if you haven't yet.

2) I have recently began trying out a modified version of the push swallow in which I clench my teeth together with decent force in order to activate the swallow. I have found that clenching like this allows the push swallow to happen much more effortlessly but at the same time with even more force than what I was able to do previously when I was more focused on using the tongue for activation. Is this a normal technique and if not do you think it is a good change or a bad one? From my very limited time with this, it seems to have created only positive results.

3) How do you feel about the role of nutrition and metabolism when it comes to making changes to facial structure? Do you think it is important and worth optimizing? I ask because I have read stories about people who have seen facial changes as late adults just from changing diets. Also, it seems to be somewhat logical to think that a body with more and better fuel would be able to move bones around more quickly and efficiently.

This last question is more specific:

4) In a scenario where a person with a posterior crossbite was expanding their upper arch, would chewing lots of gum/chewies tend to be counterproductive at first because of the way forces act on the teeth which might keep the crossbite from resolving?

Hello Mike Mew! Thank you for all of your videos and information online.

1. Is there a way to get rid of temporalis hypertrophy, enlarged temporalis around the temples and eye area?

2. I saw that you posted a comment and asked youtube viewers if they wanted a guide to build a headgear for facepulling, here: https://youtu.be/7dj1BGVsAhA Have you posted this guide?

Thanks again for your great work!