Glossary · Harmony
Maxilla
The maxilla is the upper jaw: the bone that holds the upper teeth, forms the floor of the eye sockets and supports the cheeks, nose and upper lip. Its position sets how the midface projects. In adults it does not move with tongue posture or exercises, and BecomeTen rates its support as a directional band only.
Also called: upper jaw, forward growth, maxillary projection
What is the maxilla?
The maxilla is the paired bone of the upper jaw. It carries the upper teeth, forms the hard palate and the orbit floors, and is the platform the cheekbones sit on. Its forward and vertical position has a large say in how the midface reads, from under-eye support to how the cheeks catch light. Its growth is finished by early adulthood.
What does forward growth mean on the forums?
The claim is that a recessed maxilla causes flat cheeks, hollow under-eyes and a weak profile, and that adults can bring it forward with tongue posture or hard chewing. Maxillary position does influence all of those; the second half has no support. No good trial shows that mewing or chewing moves the adult maxilla; the sutures that allowed growth are fused. The journal covers the claims in what mewing does not do.
Orthodontic expansion and orthognathic surgery can change the adult maxilla. Those are clinical decisions made with an orthodontist or maxillofacial surgeon, and BecomeTen does not recommend them at any tier.
What can a photo show about the maxilla?
A front-facing photo shows almost nothing about projection, only the soft tissue in front of the bone. A profile shows the midface outline: bone plus cheek fat, skin and head position. BecomeTen therefore never reports a maxillary measurement. It reports a band, more or less supported, and grades angle and light first, because a raised chin or a close lens both change apparent projection.
One photo. Then stop guessing.
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Is the maxilla workable or structural?
The bone is structural. The trait BecomeTen reports, maxilla support, describes how the midface reads, and that read moves with fat, skin, sleep and posture, so the report tags it workable: the read can move, the bone cannot. What shifts it:
- Body fat. Cheek fullness can hide or mimic support; a moderate deficit changes the read.
- Sleep. A 2013 study in the journal Sleep found sleep-deprived faces showed visible fatigue cues, especially around the eyes, which reads as lost support.
- Head position. A chin tipped up flattens the midface in a photo; a level head restores it.
- Skin. Even tone and texture catch light better than dull skin.
Questions
Is a recessed maxilla the reason my under-eyes look hollow?
It can contribute, but from one photo nobody can separate bone from thin skin, low body fat, poor sleep, pigmentation and overhead lighting. BecomeTen rates the under-eye area as its own trait, most of which is workable, and reports maxilla support as a separate band.
Why does BecomeTen tag maxilla support as workable if the bone is fixed?
Because the trait describes the read, not the bone. Cheek fat, skin quality, sleep and head position all change how supported the midface looks, and those are the only things the plan may work on. The harmony ceiling stays small because the bone does not move.
Does chewing hard food grow the maxilla forward in adults?
No. Chewing loads the masseter and the teeth; it does not reposition a fused bone. There are no controlled trials showing forward maxillary movement from chewing in adults, and BecomeTen labels any such step in the plan as having no studies.