Should Teeth Touch When Mewing? Tips for Proper Technique

Understanding Mewing and Its Effects on Jaw and Teeth Position

Mewing has become an increasingly popular orthotropic technique focused on proper tongue posture to achieve facial and dental benefits. However, there is some debate around whether the teeth should touch during mewing. To understand this better, let's first take a closer look at what mewing involves.

What is Mewing?

Mewing is named after Dr. John Mew, an orthodontist who pioneered orthotropics - the practice of guiding facial growth using functional appliances and mechanical forces. His goal was to address poor facial development and alignment without resorting to invasive surgical procedures or extraction of teeth.

The premise of mewing is placing your tongue against the roof of your mouth while keeping your teeth lightly together to facilitate natural widening of the palate over time. Proper tongue posture helps stimulate upward and transverse growth of the maxilla bone in both children and adults.

Common Mewing Guidelines

To perform mewing correctly, it's important to follow certain guidelines:

• Keep the entire tongue pressed flat against the palate, especially the back third of your tongue
• Maintain correct head and neck posture - don't craning your neck forward
• Avoid pressing the tongue between teeth - rest it on the gums/palatal area instead
• Breathe nasally as much as possible rather than through the mouth
• Practice mewing consistently throughout the day until it becomes habit

Should Your Teeth Touch While Mewing?

There are differing viewpoints when it comes to whether your teeth should touch during mewing.

Arguments For Light Teeth Contact

Proponents of gentle teeth contact while mewing point to the following benefits:

• Helps establish a stable jaw, head, and neck position
• Enables the back third of your tongue to fit more snugly against your palate
• May provide some upwards stimulus for palatal expansion over time

They argue that a small space between the teeth prevents the tongue from properly suctioning upwards to the palatal vault. Allowing light contact gives the tongue maximum leverage for orthotropic development.

Arguments Against Teeth Touching

On the other hand, some suggest avoiding full dental contact during mewing for the following reasons:

• Can overactivate the temporalis chewing muscles, causing face to appear wider
• May exert excessive sideways pressure on teeth over time
• Creates tension in the jaw area, leading to clenching or grinding issues

Additionally, letting teeth rest apart purportedly requires less conscious effort once mewing is established as a habit. Proper tongue posture should be the main focus rather than actively bringing teeth together.

Balancing Dental and Orthotropic Considerations

Based on an objective analysis of both viewpoints, the ideal approach seems to be keeping teeth only slightly apart while mewing rather than actively forcing them to make contact.

The tongue should prioritize postural suction against the maxilla without overly involving the lower jaw or dentition. At the same time, letting teeth drift too far apart diminishes this oral seal and stability.

Therefore, the most sensible recommendation is to:

• Allow teeth to rest gently apart without forcibly bringing them together
• Maintain a small airway space for balance of the jaw and airflow
• Focus mewing efforts on proper whole-tongue suctioning to the palate

This balanced approach enables easier habit formation while supporting orthotropic development from childhood into adulthood.

Individual Factors to Consider

The ideal amount of space between teeth during mewing depends on the individual to some degree. Those with underlying temporomandibular joint dysfunction or bruxism tendencies generally benefit more from keeping teeth slightly apart. Braces wearers may also wish to avoid dental contact when mewing to prevent excessive lateral pressures.

Conversely, someone undergoing palatal expansion treatment might transiently benefit more from gentle tooth contact while new growth and development occur. As positive change stabilizes, allowing teeth to rest more separately often becomes advantageous again in the long run.

Effective Habit Building for Mewing

Like any other healthy lifestyle habit, consistency and perseverance are key to mewing effectively. It takes time and conscious effort to re-train the tongue's posture, especially for adults. Some helpful tips include:

Set Small Milestones

Rather than get overwhelmed trying to mew properly all day, set mini-goals like:

• Mew for 5 minutes, 3 times a day
• Mew during each commercial break when watching TV
• Mew while reading or scrolling on your phone

Celebrate achieving each small milestone before adding more time or activities involving mewing tongue posture. The wins will help motivate you to advance your practice.

Use Reminders and Accountability

As mewing is invisible to the outside eye, it's easy to slip back into old oral habits. Helpful prompts to stay on track include:

• Setting phone alarms or reminders throughout your day
• Putting up post-it note reminders where you will see them
• Enlisting friends/family to do regular check-ins
• Tracking your mewing practice times on a wall calendar

Having accountability partners or visible progress records helps reinforce your mewing efforts week-by-week.

Stay Positive Through Setbacks

Don't beat yourself up or catastrophize if you go through temporary mewing slumps. Habit change occurs in a non-linear way. Remind yourself of the wise saying:

"We don't succeed despite challenges but because of challenges."

Read up on others tips for getting back on track and focus on accumulated mini-wins. Building whole-lifespan mewing habits ensures you fully reap its orthotropic rewards.

The Bottom Line

Mewing's teeth touching question requires balancing dental and bone growth considerations unique to each person. An excellent starting approach is keeping teeth gently apart while prioritizing proper tongue posture. Mini goal-setting, reminders, accountability and perseverance through ups and downs helps cement long-term mewing habits.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.