Journal of Korean Society of Dental Hygiene (J Korean Soc Dent Hyg)
Original Article

Long-term effects of smartphone app-based oral-musclestrengthening training in older adults

1Enamel Co., Ltd.
2Department of Dental Hygiene, Shinhan University

Correspondence to Kyeong-Hee Lee, Department of Dental Hygiene, Shinhan University, 95 Hoam-ro, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do 11644, Korea. Tel: +82-31-870-3452, Fax: +82-31-870-3459, E-mail: noh3898@hanmail.net

Volume 26, Number 4, Pages 473–82, August 2026.
J Korean Soc Dent Hyg 2026;26(4):473–82. https://doi.org/10.13065/jksdh.2026.26.4.6
Received on May 14, 2026, Revised on June 08, 2026, Accepted on July 24, 2026, Published on August 30, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 Journal of Korean Society of Dental Hygiene.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0).

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the long-term effects of smartphone app-based oral-muscle-strengthening training in older adults. Methods: A randomized controlled trial using a pretest-posttest control group design was conducted. Older adults were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group participated in a 12-week oral-musclestrengthening program using smartphone app content from May to August 2025. Oral health, mental health, tongue strength, and pronunciation accuracy were evaluated pre- and post-intervention. Statistical analyses were performed using a per-protocol approach. Results: Post-intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI), O’Leary index, Löe & Silness index, and anterior tongue strength (all p<0.05). Significant betweengroup differences were observed for the GOHAI (p<0.05), Löe & Silness index (p<0.05), and anterior tongue strength (p<0.01). Sleep quality also significantly improved in the experimental group (p<0.05), although between-group differences were not significant. Pronunciation accuracy improved and phonological errors decreased, but these improvements were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Smartphone app-based oral-muscle-strengthening training may effectively improve oral health and tongue strength in older adults while enhancing accessibility and adherence through continuous participation, regardless of time and place.
Keywords

Aged, Augmented reality, Long-term intervention, Muscle strength, Virtual reality

서론

이하 퍼블리싱 중.

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