Oral function improvement through oral exercise: gender differences in community-dwelling older adults

Background: Older individuals with systemic diseases and disabilities face an elevated mortality risk, with oral functional decline further contributing to both oral and systemic health challenges. Given the rising prevalence of reduced oral function in older adults, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of oral exercise training on improving oral function and preventing functional decline. Additionally, the study examines potential gender differences in response to the intervention. Methods: Seventy-seven community-dwelling older adults aged 65 and above participated in a six-week oral exercise program, performed before each meal. The study measured changes in oral function post-intervention, which including swallowing ability, salivary secretion, oral diadochokinesis and bite force. Pre- and post-intervention differences were evaluated using paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06794814‖2025-01-16). Results: Following six weeks of oral exercise training, significant improvements were observed in salivary secretion, swallowing ability (RSST), oral diadochokinesis, bite force, and quality of life (assessed by OHIP-14). Notably, female participants demonstrated statistically significant increases in stimulate saliva (p =0.013), bite force (p =0.016) and Repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST) scores (p = 0.021) post-training. Conclusion: Although the scale of the present study was limited, its findings indicated that 6 weeks of oral exercise intervention could effectively improve oral function among older adults. Training improved swallowing ability and bite force increased mainly in females. Oral diadochokinesis significantly improved for /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. Encouraging regular oral exercise, particularly before meals, may further optimize oral function and prevent oral hypofunction.