Honouring a Pioneer, Demanding a Debate

Professor John Mew (1928–2025)

Visionary. Maverick. Campaigner.

Summary.

John Mew passed away without ever being given the fair platform his ideas so clearly warranted. Yet his message has only grown louder. Today, his son Dr. Mike Mew and a growing movement of professionals, parents and the youth continue to carry that flame forward.

This campaign is not just about honouring his legacy — it’s about the future of healthcare. It’s about scientific integrity, open debate, and protecting the health and development of the next generation.

At the heart of this is a simple demand: that we apply the scientific method, ask hard questions, and start with the cause — not just the correction — of facial and dental problems.

We are raising funds to build pressure for open debate, to challenge institutional bias, and to demand a full, fair, and free scientific engagement with the questions Prof. Mew spent his life asking.

Let us honour his life, his courage, and his vision — by making sure the debate he was denied finally begins.

Details.

We believe this campaign is essential, and it begins with acknowledging the life and legacy of Professor John Mew, a man silenced, ridiculed, and yet never defeated.

For over six decades, Prof. Mew asked whether there are sensible alternatives to contemporary orthodontic therapy such as early treatment and prevention. He believed that facial form could be positively affected to reduce problems, but in lacking a full understanding of the problem, current treatments could do the opposite. After decades of frustration at being ignored, dared to suggest in Channel 4’s 1998 Dispatches programme that orthodontics can at times damage faces, which was a harbinger of the "Airway Orthodontic" movement. His message was not welcome – because it called out a system resistant to self-reflection, self-critique, and change.

Instead of engaging with his questions, the orthodontic establishment refused open dialogue. No independent investigation into his concerns or the philosophy of Orthotropics was ever conducted. No platform was given for serious discussion. Instead, he faced professional exile, character assassination, and institutional censorship – all to prevent disruption to a lucrative status quo.

Yet John Mew never gave up. He fought to raise awareness of the problems in facial development and the unacknowledged side effects of retraction and extraction-based orthodontics. Starting the Mewing phenomenon, which has helped so many with over 30 billion # views on social media. And to this day, the orthodontic establishment admits that they do not know what causes crooked teeth – the very question Prof. Mew spent his life trying to answer.

This campaign is not calling for new research.

It is calling for existing research to be re-evaluated with open eyes and a new perspective.

We ask the profession, the public, and the scientific community:

• Is there an epidemic of poor facial development in children, where crooked teeth is but one symptom?

• Are there long-term risks from the dominant orthodontic approaches?

• Can we use the scientific method to re-examine these questions – starting from the cause, not just the symptoms?

• Can we aim for prevention and early, minimal intervention, rather than late, invasive correction and for ever retention?

Let’s stop the silence. Let’s stop the suppression.

We ask you to:

• Donate to support a campaign that pushes for transparent scientific discourse.

• Sign the petition calling for a full, free and fair scientific engagement with the cause of crooked teeth and then working through all these problems. https://chng.it/SbdRkVhqyn

• Share this message in honour of John Mew – and for the health and future of the next generation

• Join us, volunteer https://bit.ly/4lpbivv, share your story https://forms.gle/cgp1NjnMC5RDZLGQ6

John Mew passed away without ever receiving the fair platform his ideas deserved. But his message has only grown louder. His son, Dr. Mike Mew, and a growing community of supporters now carry that flame forward.

This campaign is not just about his legacy – it’s about the future of healthcare. It’s about integrity in science. And it’s about giving every child the best chance to grow up healthy, confident, and whole.

Let us honour his life by demanding the debate he was never granted.

Join us to celebrate his life and legacy on Sept 6th (the day before what would have been his 97 birthday) http://bit.ly/4eqyN4q

https://www.orthotropics.com/