Been mewing for a long time but only recently I started to take the swallowing aspect of it more seriously. After a few weeks I think I'm starting to get in the habit of swallowing food and water without the buccinators. But I'm concerned that I may be using the buccinators in other ways. I try to touch my buccinators in these situations to see if they flex but sometimes it's hard to tell.
1. When masticating I tend to do big boluses that end up "temporarily stored" in the cheeks. I'm not sure how normal this is but apparently the way that I eat is I take big chunks of food and put them to a side outside of the teeth, between the teeth and the buccinators. Then I slowly transfer food from the outside area to the inside. Once it's on the inside I've gotten used to doing the push-swallow, but I'm concerned that such transfer from the cheek to the inside area of the teeth is using the buccinators, can someone speak to this?
2. I'm concerned that I do the same thing with saliva. I tend to accumulate salive between the teeth and the cheeks, and I think that previously I used the buccinators to bring them up or inside. I've tried using the tongue for this but it seems very unnatural and cumbersome. Another easier way that I have found is using suction. I create a vacuum in my mouth and this sucks the saliva through the teeth into the inside area of the teeth. This concerns me because doing this seems to do the front mucles of the mouth quite tense, and I may also be engaging the buccinators "isometrically" for this.
3. Speaking of other muscles, are we trying to atrophy the buccinators? What about the other muscles around the mouth, is it OK to exercise those while eating?
Am I worrying too much? Or is the idea that if I just focus on the moment where I swallow food and liquids, that's enough?
Appreciate any insight.
1. When masticating I tend to do big boluses that end up "temporarily stored" in the cheeks. I'm not sure how normal this is but apparently the way that I eat is I take big chunks of food and put them to a side outside of the teeth, between the teeth and the buccinators. Then I slowly transfer food from the outside area to the inside. Once it's on the inside I've gotten used to doing the push-swallow, but I'm concerned that such transfer from the cheek to the inside area of the teeth is using the buccinators, can someone speak to this?
I tend to do this as well. A simple solution would be to take very small bites but it's easier said than done especially since I don't want to spend a lot of time eating.
Also, keeping most of the food on the tongue and slowly pushing it towards the cheek and teeth to chew (opposite of what you and I seem to be doing) would also help this.
3. Speaking of other muscles, are we trying to atrophy the buccinators? What about the other muscles around the mouth, is it OK to exercise those while eating?
Am I worrying too much? Or is the idea that if I just focus on the moment where I swallow food and liquids, that's enough?
The general idea is to atrophy, yes. But there are also people who think that buccinator atrophy doesn't do anything significant towards hollow cheeks and such, and that facial fat and genetics is the bigger culprit for chubby cheeks. I'm on the fence between the two opinions since I've seen stuff online and irl that could be attributed to both.
I find it very easy to only use my tongue when it comes to swallowing liquids but not so much when it comes to solid foods. I have observed my cheeks starting to hollow after 3 months of proper (mostly liquids) swallowing, and this could further improve in the coming months.
@azrael
Hey, I actually meant to ask if we are atrophying "just" the buccinators, as in, what about the other muscles around the mouth? Do we understand which ones we need to train and which ones we need to atrophy? I should have proof-read my post better. Nonetheless, I appreciate the comment. I think I trust Mew on the premise relating the buccinators, as there seems to be plenty of anecdotal reports supporting that. It also makes a lot of sense when you think of how babies have massive cheeks, and yet in the indigenous people they completely vanish as adults. I think a reason people may be so sceptical is that it's just hard to believe intuitively given how it looks. I did a lot of testing touching my cheeks while smiling really hard to make the buccinators solid, to try to get a sense of how much of it is muscle and how much of it is fat. I feel like for me it's like 50/50 fat/muscle.
In any case, your tip about storing the food inside is so simple but it's been a revelation, I'm doing it now while eating a salad and it makes so much sense. I never understood Mew's notion that we don't use our tongue enough when chewing. I couldn't understand what you are supposed to do with it that it would make it exercise. But when you keep all the food inside the teeth it really has a chance to work a lot, now I understand it, I think this must be key. Thanks a lot!
1. I am not sure that holding food in the cheeks are going to activate the buccinators. It seems they are rather passive when doing so. I think one moves the food around the mouth by sucking at the cheeks and moving it with the tongue. This shouldn't activate the cheeks muscles, in my eyes.
2. Like the first. I think that when you are sucking saliva from your cheeks, they come inwards and thus you assume that you activate the muscles.
From what I have read, the buccinators are used for actions like smiling, whistling/blowing and sucking. Obviously, you can do this. But try to move the cheeks inwards, towards the teeth. Impossible! You need suction for that. And sucking on your cheeks won't engage their muscles, the same way sucking on your thumb won't engage your thumb muscles.
3. One should watch out for sealing ones lips by tensing the lower lip(lip seal is created via suction), as this can make it hypertrophy, causing an imbalanced appearance.
I just made a new thread about this topic. I think it shows compelling evidence that the buccinators doesn't affect facial appearance.
/community/community/main-forum/evidence-that-buccinators-doesnt-affect-hollow-cheeks/#post-30757
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