John Mew (1928–2025): Orthodontist, and Controversial Figure in British Dentistry
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- Published: Sunday, 17 August 2025 16:02
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John Mew, who has died aged 96, was a British orthodontist best known for developing and promoting “orthotropics,” an alternative philosophy of facial growth and orthodontic treatment.
After qualifying in dentistry from University College London in 1953, Mew trained in orthodontics and established practices in London and Tunbridge Wells. His early exposure to orthognathic surgery influenced his conviction that jaw position and oral posture played a decisive role in facial appearance and occlusion. By the 1980s he began to articulate what he termed the “tropic premise”: that most malocclusion was not primarily genetic but environmentally driven, largely through poor oral posture and mouth breathing.
From this hypothesis he developed orthotropics, a treatment philosophy centred on guiding facial growth in children by encouraging correct oral posture—tongue to palate, lips sealed, teeth lightly in contact—often supported by his appliance system, the Biobloc. These devices aimed to expand the maxilla, encourage nasal breathing, and promote anterior facial growth.
Mew argued that conventional fixed appliance therapy, particularly when combined with extractions, could lead to further retrusion of the maxilla and adverse facial changes. This position brought him into frequent conflict with the orthodontic establishment. Critics described his ideas as unproven, noting the absence of peer-reviewed clinical trials supporting orthotropics. Although he published theoretical and philosophical papers, Mew did not present the type of controlled clinical evidence his detractors demanded.
Despite professional controversy—including disciplinary action from the General Dental Council, culminating in erasure from the register in 2017—Mew’s philosophy gained renewed prominence in the social media era. Simplified and popularised online, particularly by his son, Mike Mew, the concept of “mewing” reached a global lay audience, albeit often stripped of its clinical framework.
For many within dentistry, John Mew remained a polarising figure: regarded by some as a provocative innovator willing to challenge orthodoxy, and by others as an eccentric whose claims lacked scientific substantiation. He nonetheless influenced debate on the role of oral posture, nasal breathing, and environmental factors in craniofacial growth, areas that continue to attract research interest today.
Mew also served the profession more conventionally as president of the Southern Counties Branch of the British Dental Association in 1971–72. His publications included The Cause and Cure of Malocclusion (2013), his most comprehensive presentation of orthotropic philosophy.
Widely considered a polymath in every sense of the word: a Formula 1 test driver, WWII dispatch rider, America’s Cup sailor, castle builder, Anthropologist, GB downhill skier, author, and a father of three.
John Mew’s legacy is complex—marked by controversy, patient testimonials, and a global following beyond dentistry. Whether viewed as a visionary or a contrarian, he ensured that questions around the causes and consequences of malocclusion remain part of the wider professional conversation.
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