John Mew

John Roland Chandley Mew ( 7 September 1928 – 25 June 2025) was a British orthodontist who was the founder of orthotropics and mewing.

Early life and career John Roland Chandley Mew was born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, on 7 September 1928. He began at University College London in 1948 and graduated with a degree in dentistry in 1953. He received a specialty degree in orthognathic surgery at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead in 1956. He was a professor of orthotropics at the London School of Facial Orthotropics.

Mew held a two-year visiting professorship at Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Timișoara, Romania.

Orthotropics Orthotropics is Mew's orthodontic method claimed to be able to guide facial growth. Mew's orthodontic methods consisted of widening and advancing the upper jaw using palatal expanders, changing the patient's diet, and having the patient adopt a myofunctionally correct resting place for the tongue, where he argued that it provides an outward force able to laterally expand the upper jaw in a growing child, and prevent downward and backward growth of the maxilla, gradually resulting in a 'natural' cure of the malocclusion.

Mew believed the cause of malocclusion is environmental and that environment decides whether or not teeth are crooked. In contrast, mainstream orthodontics attributes crooked teeth primarily to genetics.

As part of his search for an approach to orthodontics that did not cause facial retraction, Mew visited Rolf Fränkel in East Germany in 1968, who introduced him to the work of Konstantin Buteyko.

Mewing

"Mewing" is a form of do-it-yourself oral posture training named after Mew and his son Michael Gordon Mew and is described most simply by Mew as "stand up straight and shut your mouth". Mewing grew in popularity, was shared on social media by influencers and received mainstream media coverage in 2019. This coverage included many tabloid papers and an interview with Michael on This Morning with Eamonn Holmes.

Although Mew's theory contains some plausible conclusions, there is inadequate evidence to support the efficacy of this treatment. Therefore, it is not considered a viable alternative treatment to orthognathic surgery.

Controversy Mew's views on the origin of and best treatment process for malocclusion met opposition from mainstream British orthodontists. He found in favour of Mew and awarded costs.

In 2010, the General Dental Council (GDC), a London-based organisation that regulates dental professionals in the United Kingdom, reprimanded Mew for running advertisements that it said contained misleading assertions. The GDC said Mew had "denigrated orthodontics and falsely alleged that the GDC had accepted the truth of Mr Mew's report".

In 2017, Mew had his licence to practice revoked by the GDC, following claims of false advertising and breaching patient confidentiality.

Mew's son, Michael has asserted that his father and his theories had been treated badly by the profession. In a unanimous decision around 2019, Michael was expelled from the British Orthodontic Society for continuing to advocate his positions. He launched a petition campaign to argue for a repeal of the decision. As of June 2024, he was still registered as an orthodontist with the GDC.

Personal life and death Mew married Josephine Ann Mew ( Rankine) in 1964. The couple had three children. Josephine died at St Wilfrid's Hospice in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on 18 July 2013.

Between 1957 and 1967, Mew was involved in motor racing, initially in Formula Three and later moving to Formula One. In 1963, he twice broke the Formula One club circuit record at Brands Hatch, beating times set by world champions Jim Clark, and John Surtees. He also represented Great Britain in downhill skiing. on 25 June 2025, aged 96.