Longitudinal Evaluation of Community Support Project to Improve Oral Function in Japanese Elderly

• Published in: Bulletin of Tokyo Dental College Vol. 57; no. 2; pp. 75 - 82
• Main Authors: Sakayori, Takaharu, Maki, Yoshinobu, Ohkubo, Mai, Ishida, Ryo, Hirata, SoIchiro, Ishii, Takuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Tokyo Dental College, Japan 2016; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Articulation Disorders - prevention & control; Articulation Disorders - rehabilitation; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - ethnology; Community Health Services - methods; Community Support Project; Deglutition - physiology; Deglutition Disorders - prevention & control; Deglutition Disorders - rehabilitation; Dentistry; Exercise Movement Techniques - education; Exercise Movement Techniques - methods; Exercise Therapy - education; Exercise Therapy - methods; Face - physiology; Female; Health Education, Dental - methods; Health Promotion; Health Services for the Aged; Humans; Improvement in oral function; Japan - ethnology; Long-Term Care Prevention Project; Longitudinal evaluatio; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Oral Hygiene - education; Patient Compliance - statistics & numerical data; Program Evaluation; Speech - physiology; Speech Therapy - education; Speech Therapy - methods; Tongue - physiology
• ISSN: 0040-8891
• DOI: 10.2209/tdcpublication.2015-0035

Change in oral function was evaluated longitudinally in elderly persons participating in an Exercises for Healthy Oral Function program implemented as part of the Long-Term Care Prevention Project. The participants comprised high-risk and healthy persons aged 65 yr or over. A questionnaire was used to classify them into two groups (‘every day or sometimes’ or ‘rarely’) at the end of the study for a comparison of change in repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST) scores and oral diadochokinesis between 3 time points: at before, at immediately after, and at 1 yr after completion of the program. The average RSST score showed a decrease at 1 yr after intervention, but the difference was not statistically significant. Oral diadochokinesis showed a significant increase for all syllables upon completion of the program compared with at the beginning. This was followed by a significant decrease at 1 yr later compared with at the time of completion in the ‘rarely’ group for all syllables, but not in the ‘every day or sometimes’ group. In addition, the number of repetitions was significantly lower in the ‘rarely’ group than in the ‘every day or sometimes’ group for all syllables at 1 yr after completion. The results of the present study suggest that Long-Term Care Prevention Projects are necessary to maintain and improve oral function.