The answer depends largely on your age, the type of jaw problem and what you mean by “change”.
If you spend much time on TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, you may have come across videos claiming you can “grow your jaw”, widen your face, bring your chin forward or develop a dramatically different jawline through mewing, chewing exercises or other looksmaxxing techniques.
In children and teenagers who are still growing, orthodontists can sometimes guide or modify aspects of jaw growth using carefully selected orthodontic appliances. However, this is not the same as being able to grow a jaw into any desired size or shape. Genetics and a person’s natural growth pattern still play major roles.
Once jaw growth is largely complete, braces and clear aligners can move teeth and improve the bite, but they cannot substantially enlarge or reposition the adult jaw bones. Significant skeletal changes in an adult generally require orthognathic, or corrective jaw, surgery.
That distinction is important because social media often blurs the line between normal facial growth, tooth movement, muscle development and genuine changes to the jaw bones.
Your Jaws Naturally Grow as You Develop
Your upper jaw, or maxilla, and lower jaw, or mandible, change throughout childhood and adolescence as part of normal facial growth.
Exactly how they grow is influenced by many factors, including genetics. Someone may naturally develop a relatively prominent lower jaw, a smaller or more retrusive lower jaw, a narrow upper jaw or a difference between the growth of the two sides of the face.
Orthodontists assess both the teeth and the developing facial skeleton. The aim is not to create a particular social-media jawline. It is to determine whether the teeth and jaws are developing in a way that is likely to produce a healthy, functional bite and whether treatment could usefully influence that development.
Can an Orthodontist Make a Child’s Lower Jaw Grow?
Sometimes orthodontists use functional appliances when a growing patient has a Class II bite, which commonly involves the lower jaw sitting relatively behind the upper jaw. These appliances hold the lower jaw in a more forward position while the patient is growing.
Functional appliances can successfully reduce a large overjet and improve the relationship between the upper and lower teeth. Some skeletal changes can also occur, particularly when treatment coincides with active adolescent growth. However, a meaningful part of the correction comes from changes in the position of the teeth, not in jaw size.
So it is more accurate to say that an orthodontist may be able to influence a developing jaw relationship than to say an appliance can simply “grow the lower jaw”.
Timing, the underlying growth pattern, the severity of the problem and how well the appliance is worn can all affect the outcome.
Can Orthodontics Widen the Upper Jaw?
Yes, in an appropriate patient. A genuinely narrow upper jaw can sometimes be treated with a palatal or maxillary expander. These appliances increase the width of the upper dental arch and, particularly in growing patients, can produce skeletal expansion as well.
Research consistently shows that maxillary expansion can increase transverse width, although the amount of skeletal versus dental change varies with age, appliance design and the individual patient. This is very different from using an expander simply because someone wants a “wider face”.
Orthodontic expansion is prescribed when there is a clinical reason, such as a narrow upper jaw, crossbite or insufficient transverse width. Making the upper arch wider when it is not required can create bite, tooth-position or periodontal problems rather than improve facial appearance.
Does Everyone Benefit From Early Jaw Treatment?
No. One of the misconceptions surrounding “jaw development” content online is that every child needs appliances as early as possible to maximise facial growth.
Some orthodontic problems genuinely benefit from treatment while a child is growing. Others can be monitored and treated more efficiently later.
That is why the goal of an early orthodontic assessment is not necessarily to begin treatment. It is to identify problems for which timing matters.
Can Adults Grow or Reshape Their Jaws Without Surgery?
Not in the way most looksmaxxing content suggests.
Adults can absolutely have orthodontic treatment. Teeth continue to respond to orthodontic forces throughout adulthood, so braces or clear aligners can correct crowding, spacing and many bite problems.
But moving teeth is different from significantly changing the size or position of mature jaw bones.
For adults with a substantial skeletal discrepancy, such as a very large difference between the upper and lower jaws, orthognathic surgery may be considered alongside orthodontic treatment. An orthodontist first needs to determine whether the issue is primarily dental, skeletal or a combination of both.
Can Braces or Clear Aligners Change Your Face?
They can change aspects of facial appearance, but claims that braces or aligners “reshape your entire face” should be treated cautiously.
Moving front teeth forwards or backwards can alter the support they provide to the lips. Correcting a large overjet or underbite may also change how the lips and profile appear.
In a growing patient, orthodontic treatment may occur at the same time as substantial natural facial growth. In adults, conventional braces and aligners mainly reposition teeth. They do not independently grow a larger mandible or move an entire mature jaw forwards.
If you are curious about what aligners actually do, see our guide to how clear aligners straighten teeth.
Does Mewing Grow Your Jaw?
There is currently no evidence that mewing can predictably reshape the jaw bones or create the dramatic facial changes often claimed online.
“Mewing” usually refers to consciously holding the tongue against the palate in the belief that this will remodel the face or sharpen the jawline. Normal tongue posture and oral function are legitimate clinical considerations, but that does not mean deliberately changing tongue posture can sculpt an adult facial skeleton.
Be especially cautious when before-and-after images are used as proof. Camera position, lighting, facial expression, weight changes, natural adolescent growth and simply pushing the lower jaw forwards for a photograph can all change how a jawline appears.
How Do You Know Whether Your Jaw Is Still Growing?
There is no single birthday on which everyone’s facial growth suddenly stops.
Growth timing varies between individuals and between different parts of the facial skeleton. An orthodontist may consider age, stage of dental development, physical maturity, the patient’s growth history and clinical records. In selected cases, radiographs or comparisons with previous records can provide additional information.
This is one reason copying someone else’s treatment from social media is unreliable. Two people of the same age who appear to have similar profiles may be at very different stages of growth and may have completely different underlying orthodontic problems.
When Should You Ask an Orthodontist About Jaw Growth?
An assessment can be useful if you or your child has a pronounced overjet, underbite, crossbite, noticeable jaw asymmetry, difficulty getting the teeth to meet comfortably or concerns about how the jaws are developing.
A specialist orthodontic assessment looks beyond whether a jaw seems “strong”, “weak” or aesthetically fashionable. It considers the relationship between the upper and lower jaws, tooth position, bite, growth stage and what can realistically and safely be changed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jaw Growth
Braces primarily move teeth, so they do not directly enlarge the chin. Changes in tooth position, bite and lip posture can sometimes alter the way the profile looks. In growing patients, natural facial growth is also occurring during treatment.
An expander is designed to treat a narrow upper jaw or dental arch, not to produce a particular jawline. In a growing patient it may create skeletal widening of the upper jaw, but the effect on visible facial width varies.
Functional appliances can improve a Class II jaw and bite relationship in growing patients. The correction usually includes both dental and skeletal changes, and the amount of additional mandibular growth appears to be relatively modest. They are most useful when prescribed for the right problem at the right stage of growth.
Yes, the face continues to change gradually throughout adult life, and not everyone finishes active growth at exactly the same age. However, this should not be confused with being able to substantially grow or reshape mature jaw bones through exercises, mewing, braces or aligners.
No. Facial appearance does not tell you whether someone has a healthy bite, and natural variation in jaw size and shape is normal. Orthodontic treatment should address a genuine dental or skeletal concern rather than try to make every face conform to a social-media ideal.
Concerned About Your Jaw or Your Child’s Growth?
If something you have seen online has made you wonder whether your jaw is too small, too narrow or growing incorrectly, a proper assessment is much more useful than trying an unsupervised technique.
At Shakespeare Orthodontics, our specialist orthodontists assess the teeth, bite, jaw relationship and growth pattern before recommending treatment. Sometimes growth modification can help. Sometimes braces or aligners are the appropriate treatment. And sometimes the best recommendation is simply to monitor development rather than intervene.
You can learn more about our orthodontic services in Auckland or arrange an assessment at our Takapuna, Epsom, Howick or Warkworth clinics.
Phone: (09) 2166 888
Email: admin@shakespeareortho.co.nz
