Effectiveness of oral exercise programs on oral function among independent elderly people: A cluster randomized controlled trial

Aims: To compare the effectiveness of two oral exercise programs on oral function among independent elderly people. Materials and Methods: This was a cluster randomized controlled trial study conducted among 60-74 years old in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Participants in six senior schools were randomly allocated to one of two groups: the intervention group (n = 123) received a simple oral exercise program of 2 min/session (SOE) and the control group (n = 121) received a traditional oral exercise program of 15 min/session (TOE). They were required to practice twice daily. The baseline and 3-month follow-up oral function assessments included chewing ability, dry mouth status, Unstimulated Whole Saliva (UWS), dysphagia, and the Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test (RSST). Paired t test and independent t test were used to compare the outcome variables within and across the two groups, respectively. Results: At the 3-month follow-up, the SOE group significantly improved in chewing ability and UWS, whereas in the TOE group, there was a significant improvement in UWS and RSST. Comparing oral function mean differences between groups, RSST in the TOE group was significantly greater than in the SOE group (P < 0.05) but there were no differences in chewing ability, dry mouth status, UWS, or dysphagia. Conclusion: Both oral exercise programs were similarly beneficial in enhancing elderly oral function in terms of UWS. TOE outperformed SOE in terms of improving swallowing function. The other oral function had a chance to improve in both programs.