It can contribute. A narrow upper arch, which mouth breathing during growth may encourage, leaves less room for teeth, making crowding more likely. But crowding has several causes.
Worth taking seriously, and earlier is better while growth is on your side. The key step is often finding why the nose is blocked, which usually means an ENT or paediatric assessment.
No. Adult facial bones have finished growing and cannot be remodelled by breathing, tongue posture, or mouth taping. Nasal breathing is still worth pursuing for sleep and comfort, but it will not change an adult skeleton.
In a growing child, it can be one of several influences on how the jaws and teeth develop. In adults, the bones have set: the face is not reshaped by breathing, though the early pattern still explains the present shape.
We provide the dental and airway-aware assessment and coordinate your care; a dedicated myofunctional course is delivered by a qualified myofunctional therapist, to whom we refer where it is indicated.
In growing children, muscle function and airway are genuinely influential, and myofunctional input is increasingly part of early, airway-aware care. Whether it reduces the need for orthodontics depends entirely on the individual child.
No. "Mewing" is an internet term for tongue-posture habits, often oversold. Myofunctional therapy is a structured clinical discipline delivered by trained therapists, covering tongue posture but also swallowing, lip seal, and breathing, with assessment and progression.
Not the bone. In adults the facial skeleton is set. The exercises change how the muscles work and rest, which can affect posture and habit, but claims of "facial transformation" overstate what is possible.
It may support specific things in adults — orthodontic stability, resting breathing and tongue patterns, and as an adjunct within wider airway care. It will not reshape adult bone or work as a stand-alone fix.
At Dental & Wellness London we do integrated assessments — airway, tongue posture, jaw position — as standard. A free 20-minute discovery call is available for new patients; a full dental examination is £65.
Chronic mouth breathing and low tongue posture often coincide with the postural and muscle-tension patterns underlying TMJ disorder. Addressing the airway and tongue posture side often improves the jaw side in parallel.
For most adults, no — awareness and conscious practice is the starting point. Where awareness alone does not produce change, or where TMJ, airway, or sleep issues connect, a myofunctional therapy assessment is the right next step.
No. Proper tongue posture can support better airway function and is part of a comprehensive approach to sleep-disordered breathing, but sleep apnoea is a medical diagnosis requiring a sleep study.
Yes, meaningfully and with substantial peer-reviewed support. Childhood facial development is influenced by sustained tongue posture against the palate.
Not universally. Mouth taping is contraindicated in suspected or diagnosed sleep apnoea, in patients with nasal obstruction, and in some neurological conditions.
Awareness is immediate. Sustained subconscious correction typically takes weeks to months of conscious practice. Visible facial change in adults has limited evidence, but where reported, typically takes 12-24 months of sustained practice.
Body of the tongue broad against the roof of the mouth; tip just behind the upper front teeth on the incisive papilla; lips lightly closed; breathing through the nose.
The evidence supports modest effects — improved airway function, better orthodontic stability, better resting muscle tone. The dramatic facial restructuring popularly attributed to mewing in adults is mostly not supported by peer-reviewed evidence.
Some plans contribute toward clinically indicated treatment; many do not cover it as elective. We set out the cost in writing so you can check with your provider before deciding.
Most adults can, with soft foods and the prescribed stretching exercises for the first week or two. We will give you specific aftercare for your case.
Usually, yes. A tongue restricted for years needs retraining to use its new range and to heal open rather than re-tethering. The release and the re-training work together.
It is done under local anaesthetic, so most people feel pressure and the anaesthetic rather than sharp pain during it. Afterwards, any soreness is usually mild and settles with simple pain relief over a few days.
It may contribute, because tongue posture affects the airway — but snoring has several causes and release is not a guaranteed fix. Where snoring is significant, it needs proper airway assessment, and we refer to sleep-medicine specialists where appropriate.
Is adult tongue tie common? More common than the historic focus on babies suggests — many adults were simply never assessed. What matters is whether tongue movement is restricted and whether that explains your symptoms.
A structured programme of exercises that retrain the tongue, lips and swallowing pattern to restore nasal breathing and proper tongue rest.