You might have heard of tongue chewing lately.
It’s a technique that has gotten popular after being featured on Mike Mew’s (creator of mewing) channel.
Weird name, right? Despite that, it’s quite an interesting and useful exercise. Let’s get into it!
Tongue chewing is an orthotropic exercise that involves flattening a piece of gum with your tongue onto your palate. Doing this strengthens your tongue muscles so you can mew longer and more effectively.
What is Tongue Chewing?
Before we delve into the benefits of tongue chewing, we need to answer what it is and how it’s different from regular chewing.
Unlike regular chewing, where you use your teeth to break down food, tongue chewing uses your tongue to push a malleable substance, such as gum, against the roof of your mouth.
Tongue chewing should not be confused with actually chewing on your tongue! That can be a sign of medical disorders like OCD or food cravings.
Chewing on your tongue can harm your overall health and facial aesthetics, leading to misaligned teeth and potential orthognathic surgery.
On the other hand, tongue chewing in the context of mewing is a strategic exercise that aims to strengthen your jaw and tongue muscles, making it easier to maintain proper tongue posture and enhance your mewing technique.
Tongue Chewing and Mewing?
Mewing is a method developed by British orthodontist Dr. John Mew that focuses on maintaining proper tongue posture to shape a more defined jawline.
By positioning the tongue against the hard palate and engaging the surrounding muscles, mewing can help treat conditions that cause jaw widening and improve overall facial aesthetics.
While tongue chewing and mewing are separate practices, they have the same goal of retraining the tongue and mouth muscles for a more attractive facial appearance.
Tongue chewing is like a shortcut for practicing mewing more effectively since it strengthens the muscles required for proper tongue posture.
If you’re new to the concept of mewing, you can explore Dr. Mike Mew’s YouTube channel for tutorials or refer to our step-by-step mewing guide below.
How To Do Tongue Chewing: A Step-by-Step Guide
To reap the benefits of tongue chewing, practicing the technique correctly is essential.
Follow these steps to incorporate tongue chewing into your mewing routine and elevate your results:
Step 1: Choose Your Gum
Select a regular piece of gum and place it in your mouth. Instead of chewing with your teeth, begin to chew the gum against the roof of your mouth using your tongue.
Your saliva will help soften the gum, making it easier to manipulate.
Avoid choosing sugary gums since they can lead to weight gain, which will cause a puffy, soft-appearing face.
Step 2: Explore Different Shapes
Experiment with forming various shapes and balls with the gum to improve your tongue’s dexterity and tone its muscles.
During this phase, you’ll roll your tongue and reach all corners of your mouth, increasing its flexibility and potential.
Step 3: Flatten the Gum
Finally, flatten the gum against your palate using the entire surface of your tongue. This step helps you practice applying even pressure across the roof of your mouth, a crucial aspect of proper mewing technique.
You can also target specific areas, such as the right, back, left, or just behind your teeth.
After flattening, the gum should be evenly spread across the palate and a thin layer. Now just reroll the gum and repeat the process until your tongue feels tired.
What Does Tongue Chewing Do?
Now that we’ve covered the basics of tongue chewing let’s explore the various benefits it offers in conjunction with mewing:
Improved Tongue Posture
Since the jaw and tongue are interconnected, having proper tongue posture is crucial for achieving desired results.
Adding tongue chewing into your beginner’s mewing routine can increase your tongue’s stamina and flexibility, making it easier to maintain correct posture throughout the mewing process.
Strengthened Jawline and Tongue Muscles
Chewing gum has long been known to strengthen the jaw and bite force, but tongue chewing takes it a step further by also targeting the tongue muscles.
This added muscle strength enables you to adopt proper oral posture more easily, ultimately enhancing your mewing technique.
Increased Tongue Mobility and Flexibility
Tongue chewing is a stimulating exercise that challenges your tongue muscles in new ways.
Practicing various movements and tongue chewing can improve your tongue’s flexibility and dexterity, contributing to overall mewing success.
Boosted Mewing Results
Tongue chewing can be a game-changer if you’re starting your mewing journey and want to see rapid progress.
Combining tongue chewing with regular or hard mewing can refine your tongue movements and optimize the mewing technique for maximum results.
Summary
Tongue chewing can be a great way to speed up your mewing, but it isn’t a direct replacement nor is it more effective.
Tongue chewing works by working the muscles of your tongue which makes it easier to hold correct posture throughout the day.
If you aren’t seeing the results you like to, tongue chewing might be your answer.