TikTok ‘mewing’ orthodontist struck off after boy, 6, had ‘seizure-like episode’

An orthodontist whose unorthodox methods around shaping the jawline have gained popularity on social media has been struck off after a boy ‘suffered seizure-like episodes’ during treatment.

Dr Mike Mew, whose “mewing” techniques have racked up more than two billion views on TikTok and were the subject of a Netflix documentary, was found to be a “risk to public safety” by the General Dental Council following a misconduct hearing.

Following a tribunal held on Monday and a seven-year investigation, Dr Mew is set to be erased from the dental register and was given an immediate suspension order “for the protection of the public.”

The tribunal said: “Committee considered that not to impose an immediate order would be inconsistent and undermine its findings which found that you were a risk to public safety as you were undertaking treatments with no objective evidence base.”

All allegations apart from one were found proved by the GDC committee.

Although the Mews Orthoptropics technique has been adopted in some countries, it is not recognised as a treatment by the NHS or GDC and Mr Mews is, according to the regulator, the only Orthotropic practioner in the UK.

In response to the ruling, Dr Mew said: “The General Dental Council has offered as much scientific evidence for their approach as the Pope did in convicting Galileo for saying that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

“The naked truth is that the GDC is more concerned about protecting the lucrative orthodontic industry than protecting children from harm.”

According to the tribunal evidence heard in 2023, a six-year-old boy treated by Mr Mew in 2018, known only as Patient B, was fitted in 2018 with head and neck gear which needed to be worn for at least eight hours a day, an “expansion appliance” which had to stay on for at least 18 hours and “removable upper and lower appliances” which could only be removed when he was brushing his teeth.

A misconduct hearing last year was told the boy struggled to keep the devices on this long and the episodes were triggered if he was pushed too far to wear them.

Qualified dentist Aliyah Janmohamed, who worked with Dr Mew at his clinic in Purley, south London, between June 2017 and January 2019, said: “Sometimes Patient B has post-traumatic episodes following past medical interventions.

The hearing was also told the treatment, which had a price tag of £12,500 for 36 months, risked causing his teeth to fall out and led him to struggle to eat.

“He would have the seizure-like episodes if pushed too far so mum and dad were having issues.”

The child’s mother also told Ms Janmohamed in a phone call that Dr Mew “never listens” to her concerns and she was unhappy with his “one-size-fits-all” approach, adding that he was a “dangerous professional who needs to listen to his patients more”.

Dr Mew first attempted to treat Patient B in 2013 when he was just two years old.

The mother of Dr Mew’s second patient, Patient A, according to the tribunal is still a supporter of his treatment, while Patient B stopped treatment after four months following the alleged harm.

The tribunal heard allegations that Dr Mew referred Patient A for an inappropriate “lingual tongue-tie release” surgery.

It was also heard that the treatment given to Patient A, the fitting of appliances, caused her harm as it resulted in “a traumatic ulcer.”

The committee described his Orthotropic treatment of Patient A as “invasive”. Dr Mew said the treatment of the condition required “tough love.”