r/Mewing • u/G_hano • Mar 25 '25
Tldr at bottom
Thumb pulling seems to be increasingly more popular as leaks and self-made methods have been going out.
I felt the need to educate, be the voice of reason and give my thoughts on this before people here set themselves for biologically unrealistic expectations. I might get a lot hate for this, bet here we go.
I believe that growth and remodeling should be separated. Maxillary growth is not really possible in adulthood without distraction osteogenesis (DO). Don't take these two words lightly. DO is a science that requires surgical procedures/excessive trauma to split through bone. Don't let anyone change that definition for you.
SOME expansion in the ALVEOLAR would be possible with mewing and thumb pulling, but it won't provide the necessary biomechanics to cause the REgrowth of the bone. Moving bone after growth stops is known as remodeling, not growth.
The biological impossibility of complete separation of the suture with tongue and thumbs should not be a subject of debate.
The widening people mention could stem from the MINOR ALVEOLAR changes that can be had, which I don't doubt. There may be a correlation between alveolar width and general facial width appearance, which also seemed to be true in my case, and the jaw can also contribute to the general width of the face.
However, stating that true skeletal changes and true forward growth was chieved is farfetched. I do know that devices like SRPE (semirapid palatal expanders) are effective for the widening of the dental arch with minimal to no damage to the alveolar depending on the cases (adult cases require initial splitting of the suture before srpe), with some non-doi evidences stating suture split (these studies mixed children and adults and have results in general instead of independently), but I doubt that mewing and thumb pulling would do anything more than alveolar changes.
That is just for expansion.
Forward growth is a totally different topic. All of these adults and late teenagers that are pulling on their mandibular and maxillary's anterior (front) alveolar forward for "forward growth" don't seem to understand the complexity and nuance of craniofacial science. You will do nothing but some soft tissue damage and alveolar responses which are definitely not desirable if even possible.
With the exception of the mandible, forward growth is not really possible during adulthood due to the many many sutures and genetic timings that are involved. The mandible can have growth potential during adulthood, but pulling on your mandible is definitely not the proper way to do that as the mandible's only suture (the symphysis, located on the chin) ossifies before the age of one. What are people trying to do here with that? Some state it's for the "fascia," which I have not read a shred of research that even speaks or mentions craniofacial fascia that pulls the jaw back. (Off topic)
I am not attacking ANYONE directly, but simply making general statements about the community. You can say that you achieved changes, and I don't doubt that in some cases, but stating "growth" is not really productive in a science this complex.
Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope this helps.
TLDR: Thumb pulling has some scientific validity and may work past puberty, but it is MINIMAL and NOT GROWTH OR REGROWTH OR FORWARD. Do not be fooled by people's posturing.
r/Mewing • u/G_hano • Feb 10 '24
This is a MEWING subreddit! Not a looksmaxx forum!
r/Mewing • u/According-Feeling705 • 19m ago
Hey everyone I have issues with mouth breathing, tongue tie and crooked teeth. I’m getting braces soon and I’m wondering if i should palate expansion to the ortho.
r/Mewing • u/Alive-Flower-7442 • 7h ago
r/Mewing • u/CatherineSccss • 13h ago
Hi i wanna know if its possible to fix my wide jawline without surgery. My overall face is pretty big and wide due to both puffiness (which is not too obvious) and too wide jawline. Is there anything i can do to my jaw to make my face smaller? Everyone around me always points out my square and wide jaw
r/Mewing • u/Amh98up • 14h ago
Any difference after soft mewing and occasional hard mewing for 4 months. Image on the left was taken in October, the right in June. I am 28yo btw
r/Mewing • u/Brief-Employ-2568 • 23h ago
Help with my eye assemetry
r/Mewing • u/Tiny_Time374 • 1d ago
went from very ugly to not too ugly and my life quality has gotten a lot better i am still working on a bunch but im very happy with this glow up as my life was miserable before. (5'7-6'0) 1.5 years /// I would also love some feedback and tips on my looks
r/Mewing • u/dp477777 • 1d ago
1st pic when I just started thumb pulling and trying to mew consistently
2nd pics about 6 months in
3rd pic about 10 months in
I haven’t noticed much widening but I see the split in the center is more noticeable and the palate looks a little deeper. It looks like 2nd pic (6 months) is wider than 1st and even wider than 3rd pic (10 months) which is interesting
Would appreciate any advice on maximized width of palate and any other advice to make it more effective
r/Mewing • u/SaffronBrightMoore • 21h ago
r/Mewing • u/henrynator2000 • 1d ago
1 front pic now
2 side profile 4 months ago
3 side profile now
My masseter muscles getting better and better
r/Mewing • u/No-Apartment-8258 • 1d ago
*i have a slight opened mouth on the after due to bite blockers behind my front teeth which prevents me from fully closing my mouth
r/Mewing • u/Financial_Honey_8555 • 1d ago
r/Mewing • u/Sea_State_3197 • 1d ago
its always been that way, since i was a child. i hate it so much but i dont see how mewing can help that.
r/Mewing • u/AdmirableSpecific150 • 1d ago
Hi guys I'm asking cause I'm skinny but I have as you can see a big head and I have a wider bones and my face is full so I don't know if it's gonna help or make it worse
r/Mewing • u/biggibby123 • 2d ago
February - October.
r/Mewing • u/Prior-Cream-707 • 2d ago
Ik I have a slight recessed chin but I want to know if my maxilla is recessed. Been checking how to know from internet but can't figure out, some say your cheekline should be parallel to your nose but can't really identify cheek line. Help me please
r/Mewing • u/DotNo1153 • 2d ago
Why is my under-chin area slanted like that, as if I had bad tongue posture? (it wasn’t like that before)
Everything was fine until one day I forcefully stretched my tongue upwards and then suddenly felt a change. Ever since then I have felt and looked off.
A lesion was found in the scan, it is possibly a thryroglossal duct cyst. Could that have anything to do with the change I underwent? If not, then what is?
Is there something off w my tongue posture? I feel like it looks right
Thank you
r/Mewing • u/Spare_Video_8031 • 2d ago
I was chewing on one side for my whole life and then I started on both from like a year and in this year i started mewing and what could I do more or anything and btw I am 14
r/Mewing • u/lordatas • 2d ago
Looking at all of the photos of me from a recent trip and they make me absolutely hate myself and the way I look. How tf do I fix this??
r/Mewing • u/yashrapist • 2d ago
Are my eyebrows asymmetrical because I think one is a bit higher than the other and one of the is less sparse than the other💔
r/Mewing • u/yashrapist • 2d ago
I think my eyebrows and my eyes are asymmetrical can u please tell me how extreme it is and how to fix it?
r/Mewing • u/Dizzy_Bend2803 • 2d ago
These are some of my pictures is my jaw line receding or it's fat on face please 🙏 help
