한국치위생학회

The effect of an oral exercise program including whole-body exercises on the mental health of the elderly

Eun-Seo Jung¹ Su-Yeon Seo² Kyeong-Hee Lee^1,*

Department of Dental Hygiene, Shinhan University
¹Department of Beauty Health Science, Shinhan University

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of oral exercise programs with whole-body exercises on the mental health of the elderly. Elderly individuals aged 65 years or older were assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Oral exercises with whole-body exercises were conducted in the experimental group for 40 minutes, twice weekly, during 5 weeks from May to June 2021. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, the oral health related quality of life (OHIP-14, GOHAI), mental health, happiness, and social support of the elderly were explored both before and after the execution of the program in the experimental group. A paired sample t-test was performed to check the changes in the factors investigated, both before and after the execution of the program in the two groups. The values of difference between the experimental and control group were compared in relation to the dependent variables, before and after the execution of the oral exercise program with the whole-body exercises. It was found that statistically significant differences in the OHIP-14 (p=0.163), GOHAI (p=0.156), and feelings of happiness in the elderly (p=0.280) were not evident in the experimental group. However, statistically significant differences emerged with regard to the mental health and provision of social support of the elderly (p<0.05). It was found that the oral exercise program with whole-body exercises executed in this study were effective in improving the mental health and social support of the elderly. However, no significant differences were shown in oral health relating to quality of life and feelings of happiness. It is considered that these findings need to be verified by means of future long-term studies.

Figures & Tables

Table 1. Whole-body exercise and oral exercise programs