It can be quite frustrating to continue wearing a device even after having your braces. But you're eager to keep up with mewing, right? Training yourself to maintain proper tongue posture is crucial to prevent any potential relapses after you remove your retainer.
So, keep up the mewing practice, and you'll be in for the amazing mewing before and after transformations, and a confident smile.
Retainers are important for maintaining the proper alignment of your teeth, just like mewing helps with your jawline and facial bones. The thing is, mewing while wearing retainers at the same time can be a little hard for some people.
Whether you're new to what mewing is or you're simply wondering how to mew properly with a retainer, we've got you covered!
In this article, you will learn:
Get a better jawline in just 28 days
Get rid of a double chin and get an attractive jawline with a daily mewing workout
Before you jump to “Can I mew with retainers”, let's discuss the purpose of wearing a retainer after having Invisalign or braces.
Retainers are like a preventive cover for your teeth, making sure they don't go back to their old positions.
Here's how retainers work: your dental specialist takes a mold of your mouth and creates a custom retainer to keep your teeth perfectly aligned. However, the retainer does more than preventing your teeth from going back into the old position!
This post-orthodontics device helps in:
Your teeth sit in the alveolar bone, also known as the jaw bone that makes up your teeth pockets. The alveolar bone has the highest remodeling rate when you compare it to the rest of your body. However, it still needs at least a year to adapt to your new tooth positions.
During this period, you might have some temporary holes in your jaw but don't worry, it'll harden around your new teeth spots. The bone needs to be resorbed from one side and then deposited from another side to lock your teeth securely into their fresh, perfect spots.
That’s precisely what retainers help you with – ensuring your teeth stay in the correct position. And when you combine mewing tongue posture with retainers, it trains you to avoid relapsing after you take off your retainers.
Mewing is all about correcting your oral posture including your tongue, teeth, and lips position to improve your facial features. You can see that the benefits of mewing go from helping you fix your oral issues to fixing your facial asymmetry and teeth alignment.
However, combining orthodontics and mewing at the same time can be quite challenging if you’re just starting out. We recommend you go through an absolute mewing tongue posture guide first for better understanding.
Perfecting your mewing technique takes time, and adding orthodontic appliances can make it more complex. Post-braces, your teeth are vulnerable, so caution is key while mewing.
Nevertheless, you can still mew while wearing retainers “IF” you’re doing it correctly and are mindful of teeth positioning.
Once you start mewing, be careful not to hastily remove your retainers. Follow your orthodontist's instructions and find ways to work around any obstacles when mewing.
So for the question, “Can you wear retainers while mewing” – Yes, you definitely can!
With patience and care, mewing can complement orthodontic treatments like retainers and lead to great results.
If you’re confused about where to begin, our Mewing App has everything you need to kickstart your mewing journey.
After all, who doesn’t like fast results with their orthodontics treatment?
Mewing: x10 Your Looks
✓ Get an attractive jawline
✓ Boost your self-confidence
✓ All techniques in a one app
Now comes the most important question, “How to mew with a retainer”?
As we discussed before, retainers are super important in keeping your teeth from shifting back. But wearing it only at night and mewing during the day can cause some trouble.
When you push your teeth forward while mewing, it clashes with what the retainer is trying to do, and that could lead to long-term damage and mess up bone deposition.
This is why you need to tweak your mewing technique a bit – try not to push on your actual teeth. You want them to stay put, right? So, focus on horizontal tongue squishing and make sure your tongue only touches the top of your mouth. Dr. Mew also suggests not to practice hard mewing while wearing retainers. Let the retainer do its thing while still helping your face grow forward and up.
With this modified mewing, you're not only working with the retainer but also fixing your posture and boosting forward growth.
Once you take your retainer out for good, you'll be all set with a correct mewing tongue posture.
If you find that there isn't enough tongue space to mew with your retainer, don't worry; there's a solution. Consider an MSE palate expander to create more space. After the treatment, you can continue using your retainer as planned. It's all about finding the right approach to make mewing and your orthodontic treatment a success!
Here are three things to remember while you’re all set to mew with your retainers on:
An Essix retainer is a clear retainer that snaps onto your teeth, resembling an Invisalign aligner. It's great for mewing because it doesn't obstruct your tongue. You can mew normally with this retainer, and it even alerts you if your tongue gets too close to your front teeth.
A Hawley retainer is not suitable for mewing because it occupies tongue space on the upper palate. If you have a Hawley retainer, consider requesting an Essix retainer or a fixed retainer from your orthodontist/dentist.
A fixed retainer locks only the front 4 or 6 teeth, as suggested appropriately by your orthodontist. It avoids soft tissue damage, unlike other fixed retainers, but its failure rate is slightly higher due to not covering all teeth.
Mewing with a fixed retainer is easy because it takes up minimal space and doesn't lock your back teeth. However, your mewing technique must be near perfection to prevent your palate from becoming smaller. Be prepared to put in the effort to maintain proper tongue posture.
Everything you need for mewing in one app:
1. Learn the correct technique
2. Make it a habit
3.Track your progress
The ideal retainer choice should be determined by your doctor, as they know your unique needs best. However, for mewing purposes, fixed retainers are often recommended. They only lock the front teeth, avoiding potential tooth movement caused by switching between mewing and removable retainers daily.
We don’t recommend replacing your retainers with mewing. To make your braces get the best results for you, it’s best you wear a retainer for the full duration.
Your ligaments and muscles are used to your old teeth position. If you take out your retainer, they might want to pull your teeth back to their old ways.
So precisely, you shouldn’t be removing your retainers while mewing. In fact, you can mew and wear retainers at the same time. That's what our mewing retainers guide is for!
