Thebastard said:
6 months isn't too bad! You will look like a new man by the end of it.
I am very curious about these mouth brace devices that teach proper tongue position. My jaw line is amongst the worst you can find and if there is anything I can do to improve it, I am all ears. I know about mewing and orthotropics but only at a very rudimentary level.
Yes indeed bro, that will get me far further ahead in my process!
OK, sure. So, the work I am doing is airway development work, or orthotopic work. It is VERY similar to Mewing, and I did reach out to Mike when working all of this out.
I've done a lot of research in this domain, so I'll start you with this video from Dr Tom Colquit, a guy I do consult with myself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5S5AZ50pAE
In developing an airway which hasn't grown to it's full potential, the restoration of health, happiness and function is possible. And it will also improve the aesthetics of the face by widening the face, building the jaw, and creating harmony.
For myself, I am an advanced student of breathwork, 6 years of practice, and even so, I experienced a lingering issue of dry tongue in the morning. I tape my mouth every night, but it persisted.
I have a solid network of breathwork people, etc, and reached out.
That thrust me into the world of orthotropics, Mewing, airway, etc.
In sum, I did some consults, and it was clear as day that my upper jaw is underdeveloped, my tongue posture improper, and my upper arch was narrow. Even having retrained my breathing to ONLY nose breathing, improper tongue posture and swallowing patterns meant that during sleep, which is where we also swallow, my mouth would fall open and force mouth breathing, even with the tape over my mouth. It was because my upper jaw was weak, and my tongue was not trained from childhood to keep my structure together. So I would wake up tired, with a dry tongue, and sometimes a racing heart.
I had to figure it out.
And I did.
I started with the Myobrace, a removable device you wear at night, which trains idea tongue posture, develops the facial muscles, and teaches proper swallowing. Basically, it forces Mewing. Then, I am starting with an ALF upper expander, a device which expands the palate, and develops the airway to the extent that nature designed.
With this will come improved health, function and happiness.
Since using the myobrace, the dry tongue finally stopped, and I wake up rested, without racing heart.
I cracked it mate. Like I tend to do.
And with expansion, my jaw will be far stronger. You must also retrain the tongue, because if you don't, the expansion will be for moving as the structure will just collapse again. The tongue is a right fucker in that it drives the development of the jaw and face, and when it's trained the right way, it applies constant pressure to develop and maintain the structure.
For yourself, I would look into getting some consults done. You will need to find an orthodontist who can help you in Latam. You will need to find some who uses some form of expander device, like the ALF upper, homeoblock, or other. Dr John Mew has a good video outlining his preferences of devices, he is good with the one I use, but challenges things like the homeoblock which have been all the rage since James Nestor's ep on JRE. Note, any approach to expansion WILL need to have some form of myofunctional therapy, and my preference is the myobrace, but there's other ways.
You CAN develop your jaw, improve your health and function, and live a happier life. What motivated me to develop my airway was purely health, but as a byproduct, it WILL improve my jaw and facial aesthetics.
I can zip through some further videos, I'm also in some good Orthotropic groups where people discuss this work and can advice on individual cases.
For myself, my lower jaw was mercifully pretty good. It's just the upper. For yourself, I think both jaws may need development. This can be easily assessed by an orthodontist, and they can even give you an opinion just through pics and video, if you just wanted to test the waters without going all the way.
I have a guy in Surrey who's really good, there's plenty in the US, but I don't know if anyone in Latam. With digging, you may be able to find someone.
Keep hammering,
MAC
You look good
