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Oral function (OF) decline in older people is associated with nutritional deficiencies, which increases frailty risk and the need for nursing care. We investigated whether the delivery of an oral function improvement program on a tablet device was as effective as delivery through a paper-based program. We also investigated the association between tongue pressure (TP) improvement and nutritional status at the baseline. The participants involved in the study were 26 community-dwelling older people with low TP, <30 kPa, aged ≥65 years, who were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial for a month in Itoshima City, Fukuoka, Japan. Oral and physical functions and body composition were measured at the baseline and at follow-up. Two-way analysis of variance revealed that body mass index (p = 0.004) increased, and maximum masticatory performance (p = 0.010), maximum TP (p = 0.035), and oral diadochokinesis /pa/ and /ka/ (p = 0.009 and 0.017, respectively) improved in a month. Participants with higher TP improvement showed an increased intake of animal proteins at the baseline: fish (p = 0.022), meat (p = 0.029), and egg (p = 0.009). OF exercises for improving TP were associated with higher animal protein intake at the baseline. This study has been registered with the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN 000050292).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of walking training “Interval Walking Training (IWT)” on oral health status. Participants were divided into two groups: an exercise intervention group and a non-intervention group (control). The intervention group consisted of 59 subjects (20 males, 39 females) aged 50 years or older who participated in the IWT program in Matsumoto from 2019 to April 2022. The control group consisted of 33 subjects (14 males and 19 females) aged 50 years or older who have visited Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital and agreed to participate in the study. The intervention group underwent walking training (interval walking training) for at least 5–6 months. The walking training consisted of five sets of fast walking above 70% peak aerobic capacity for walking (VO2peak) for 3 min, followed by 3 min of slow walking at ~40% VO2 peak per day for more than four days/week. The oral health status was evaluated for the number of teeth, occlusal force, salivary occult blood, masticatory performance, and tongue pressure. A total of 57 participants were analyzed in the intervention group (18 males and 39 females, age: 66.7 ± 0.8 (mean ± S.E.) years) and 33 participants in the control group (14 males and 19 females, age: 74.5 ± 1.1 (mean ± S.E.) years). There were no significant differences in gender, salivary occult blood, tongue pressure, masticatory performance, or occlusal force between the two groups at the start of the intervention (p = 0.36, p = 0.48, p = 0.42, p = 0.58, and p = 0.08, respectively by unpaired t-test or χ2 test). On the other hand, there were significant differences in age and BMI, with a trend toward lower age and higher BMI in the intervention group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively, by unpaired t-test). In terms of rate of change, the intervention group showed a significant increase in occlusal force (F = 4.5, p = 0.04, ANCOVA) and a significant decrease in BMI (F = 7.3, p = 0.009, ANCOVA). No significant differences were observed in the other measured items. It was found that walking training in both middle-aged and older people does not only affect the physical aspect of weight loss but may help maintain and improve the occlusal force.

Background: Dry mouth, masticatory discomfort, and swallowing in older individuals are important factors affecting overall health. To improve their quality of life, efforts are required to improve their oral function. Therefore, this study implemented a training program evaluating oral function to confirm improvements in swallowing. Methods: The study was conducted for approximately 4 months, from Jul to Oct 2023. Participants aged 65 yr or older were selected from welfare facilities in the metropolitan region, with 24 participants in both the intervention and control groups. Results: As a result of a study conducted on oral function training program, the intervention group exhibited significant improvements in the simulated swallowing flow rate (P <0.05), bite force (P <0.001), and tongue pressure (P <0.001). Conclusion: The oral function training program effectively improved simulated swallowing flow rate, bite force, and tongue pressure. Consequently, there is an opportunity to implement oral function training programs at accessible welfare centers for older individuals in the community.

Background Identifying older adults at high risk of progressive oral functional decline is a critical public-health priority, as early decline often manifests initially as subtle swallowing difficulties. Standard diagnostic tools (e.g., VFSS, FEES) are invasive, whereas most existing screening methods assess only a single functional dimension. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate a fully non-invasive, multidimensional screening approach that integrates high-resolution video-based jaw-movement analysis with diadochokinetic (DDK) performance to enable the early detection of older adults at risk. Method Eighty-nine participants aged 65–95 years were recruited from community care stations in Taiwan. Participants were classified as high risk for oral functional decline if they performed fewer than three swallows within 30 s on the repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST). The assessment included DDK performance and jaw movement analysis using video tracking. Logistic regression was used to identify significant predictors, followed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to evaluate diagnostic performance. Results Among the 89 participants (mean age = 77.6 years; 22 men), 41 (46%) met the RSST high-risk criterion. Female participants exhibited significantly faster jaw-movement velocities compared to male participants ( p  < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression confirmed age, DDK performance, and jaw-kinematic variables as independent predictors of high-risk status. A combined model of key DDK measures and average jaw-closing angular velocity achieved optimal discrimination (AUC = 0.83) and high sensitivity (0.95), outperforming individual predictors. Conclusion This study presents a practical, cost-effective, and non-contact screening method for early identification of oral function high risk in older adults. Integrating jaw movement with DDK performance offers high sensitivity, supporting potential use in early clinical interventions and community-based screening programs. Trial registration ISRCTN11010971 (https//www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN11010971). Registered on 17 April 2025.

We prototyped a new device with a soft and flexible pressure sensor to measure the force to close the mandible with or without occlusal support (jaw-closing force, JCF). This study aimed to clarify the practicality of this instrument. Healthy young and older adults with occlusal support were recruited. Intra- and inter-rater reliability of the JCF meter was examined using data from younger participants. Data regarding age, sex, body mass index, remaining teeth, and dentures of the older adults were obtained. Furthermore, the right and left JCFs were measured using a JCF meter; occlusal force was measured using an existing occlusal force-measuring device. Intra- and inter-rater correlation coefficients were significantly reproducible (0.691–0.811, p < 0.05). JCF was correlated with occlusal force (p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that factors significantly associated with JCF included denture status (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.038), and occlusal force (p = 0.043). The prototyped JCF meter can measure JCF with high reproducibility, reliability, and validity. Further, association with occlusal force, which is an existing index, was observed. This device could be used to measure the JCF with or without occlusal support as a new method of evaluating oral function in older adults.

This longitudinal study aimed to clarify the impact of regular oral health management for oral hypofunction on the oral function of older dental outpatients. The 68 participants enrolled in this study were older dental outpatients (mean age 78.5 ± 8.1 years). According to the number of declined oral examinations after the first exam, participants were assigned to the oral hypofunction group (Hypo group, ≥3), receiving regular oral health management with a leaflet at the dental clinic, or the pre-oral hypofunction group (Pre-hypo group, ≤2), which served as a control. At the second oral examination, after approximately 6 months to 1 year, the Hypo group showed significant improvement in the tongue-lip motor function (Oral diadochokinesis, ODK) /pa/, /ta/, and masticatory function, while the Pre-hypo group showed significant worsening in oral hygiene and oral wetness. Temporal changes in ODK /pa/, /ta/, and the number of declined examination items were significantly different between the groups. Multiple analysis revealed that the number of improved oral examination items were associated with presence of regular oral health management after adjusting for age, sex, number of visits, measuring period, and dental treatment. Regular comprehensive oral health management for oral hypofunction improves and maintains oral function among older dental outpatients.

Oral function declines in older individuals due to disease and age-related changes, making them vulnerable to oral and physical frailty. Therefore, it is important to manage the decline in oral function in older outpatients. Oral hypofunction is diagnosed by seven tests related to oral function, oral hygiene, oral moisture, occlusal force, oral diadochokinesis, tongue pressure, masticatory function, and swallowing function. However, sex or age were not factored into the current reference values of these tests. We included subjects attending the dental hospital clinic for maintenance, and recorded and analyzed oral hypofunction and the factors associated with its diagnosis. Of the 134 outpatients (53 males and 81 females, mean age 75.2 ± 11.2 years), 63% were diagnosed with oral hypofunction. Oral hypofunction prevalence increased significantly with age, and significant variations were observed in all tests. Furthermore, oral hygiene and swallowing function were not associated with oral hypofunction diagnosis. All examined factors decreased with increasing age, even after adjusting sex, except for oral hygiene and moisture. Occlusal force and masticatory function were higher in men after adjusting age. This study suggested that older outpatients were likely to be diagnosed with oral hypofunction, and that the test reference value and their selection for oral hypofunction should be reconsidered.

Background This study aims to reveal the factors associated with oral frailty among community dwelling older adults in Chengdu, China. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Oral frailty was assessed using the Oral Frailty Index-6, encompassing the number of natural teeth, chewing ability, tongue pressure, oral diadochokinesis, and self-reported difficulties in eating tough food and swallowing on tea or soup. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0, with modified Poisson regression employed to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs). Results A total of 470 community-dwelling adults aged 60 and older were included. Among them, 195 (41.5%) were identified as having oral frailty based on the OFI-6. Multivariable analysis identified that older age [70–79 years: PR:2.55, (95%CI: 1.83–3.55); ≥80 years: PR:2.89, (95%CI: 1.99–4.21)], dry mouth (PR:1.34, 95%CI: 1.00-1.80), low handgrip strength (PR:1.47, 95%CI: 1.17–1.85), and depression (PR: 1.50, 95%CI: 1.08–2.08) were associated with a higher prevalence of oral frailty, while female gender (PR: 0.79, 95%CI: 0.65–0.97) and using toothpicks (PR:0.63, 95%CI: 0.44–0.89) were associated with a lower prevalence ( P  < 0.05). Conclusions This study revealed that oral frailty is a significant concern among the community-dwelling older adults in Western China included in our sample. The factors associated with oral frailty are multifaceted, spanning sociodemographic, behavioral, physical, and psychological domains. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions and the integration of oral function assessments into community-based geriatric care.

This single-center cross-sectional study used sequential sampling to examine the influence of body mass index (BMI) on oral function after oral cancer treatment. Patients who completed primary oral cancer treatment between September 2019 and March 2023 (102 patients, 74 male [72.5%] and 28 female [27.5%]; mean age, 69.6 years) were analyzed. Patient background data were collected from electronic medical records. Post-treatment oral function measurements were conducted on all patients using six assessment tools. Statistical analysis was conducted using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, one-way analysis of variance, the Jonckheere–Terpstra test, and multiple linear regression. Pre-treatment BMI showed a statistically significant relationship with postoperative oral function, particularly tongue pressure ( P  = 0.01). While the mean values of the groups showed no significant differences, the Jonckheere–Terpstra test revealed a statistically significant trend toward a stepwise increase in tongue pressure for each BMI group ( P  = 0.03). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a statistically significant correlation between tongue pressure and pre-treatment BMI ( P  < 0.05). Pre-treatment BMI was significantly associated with tongue pressure. Since BMI is a variable factor that can be controlled by nutritional therapy even before treatment, nutritional intervention, weight control, and treatment strategies including reconstructive interventions to maintain tongue pressure may be important in oral cancer treatment.

Oral hypofunction, resulting from a combined decrease in multiple oral functions, may affect systemic-condition deterioration; however, few studies have examined the association between oral hypofunction and general health among older adults. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between oral hypofunction and sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults. We included 878 adults (268 men and 610 women, mean age 76.5 ± 8.3 years). Tongue coating index, oral moisture, occlusal force, oral diadochokinesis (/pa/,/ta/,/ka/), tongue pressure, mas-ticatory function, and swallowing function were evaluated as indicators of oral hypofunction. Grip strength, gait speed, and skeletal muscle mass index were measured as diagnostic sarcopenia parameters. The association between oral hypofunction and sarcopenia was examined via logistic regression using sarcopenia as the dependent variable. Oral hypofunction prevalence was 50.5% overall, 40.3% in men, and 54.9% in women. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 18.6% overall, 9.7% in men, and 22.5% in women. A logistic regression showed oral hypofunction, age, body mass index, higher-level functional capacity, and serum albumin level were significantly associated with sarcopenia. Sarcopenia occurred at an increased frequency in patients diagnosed with oral hypofunction (odds ratio: 1.59, 95% confidence interval: 1.02–2.47); accordingly, oral hypofunction appears to be significantly associated with sarcopenia.