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Oral exercises

Oral exercises has been studied in 12 papers since 2021: 7 trials in people, 5 reviews; 4 in the past year. The newest paper, Oct 18, 2026: “Masticatory stimulation, oral health, and cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease: systematic review”.

Intervention

12 papers study it17 findingsUpdated

1 new paper in 30 daysSee all 12

“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.”
Oral function improvement through oral exercise: gender differences in community-dwelling older adultsBMC geriatrics2025doi:10.1186/s12877-025-06134-x

None of its findings points the other way.

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

  • 7 independent labs in 3 countries
  • Funders: National Science and Technology Council and 3 more
  • Human trial7

Studies in people

4 studies gave oral exercises to people and measured what changed.

What did studies of Oral exercises find?

9

Studies of Oral exercises measured 9 outcomes; the most studied are oral function (3 studies), tongue pressure (2) and bite force (1).

Oral function

upin humans3

3 studies

  1. Oral exercises improve oral function in humans.

    “Oral exercises and oral hygiene improved oral function”

    Review

    Masticatory stimulation, oral health, and cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease: systematic review

    Cuaderno de odontología. Revista científica.

  2. Oral exercises improve oral function in humans.

    “Oral diadochokinesis significantly improved for/pa/,/ta/, and/ka/.”

    Human trial6 weeksn = 77

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

    BMC geriatrics

  3. Oral exercises improve oral function in humans.

    “All of the oral function parameters improved from the baseline values.”

    Human trialonce a day3 monthsn = 16

    The Effect of Oral Function Improvement on Dietary Habits in Older Adults Requiring Support Care

    Nursing research and practice

Tongue pressure

upin humans2

2 studies

  1. Oral exercises improve tongue pressure in humans.

    “Tongue pressure (p < 0.001), /pa/syllable (p=0.004), and/ta/syllable (p = 0.018), and masticatory force (p = 0.012) significantly improved after the intervention, but the/ka/syllable (p = 0.894) did not.”

    Human trialonce a day3 monthsn = 16

    The Effect of Oral Function Improvement on Dietary Habits in Older Adults Requiring Support Care

    Nursing research and practice

  2. Oral exercises improve tongue pressure in humans.

    “In summary, a 3-month oral exercise program can exert a positive effect and improving on the tongue pressure of older people.”

    Human trial12-weekn = 66

    Effects of oral exercise on tongue pressure in Taiwanese older adults in community day care centers

    Journal of dental sciences

  3. Oral exercises improve tongue pressure in humans (20.63 ± 10.45 kPa vs baseline 16.92 ± 10.62 kPa, p < 0.001).

    “mean tongue pressure at the end of the study was 20.63 ± 10.45 kPa, which was significantly higher than the baseline measurement (16.92 ± 10.62 kPa, p < 0.001)”

    Human trial15-min weekly group oral exercise activity12-weekn = 66

    Effects of oral exercise on tongue pressure in Taiwanese older adults in community day care centers

    Journal of dental sciences

Bite force

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Oral exercises increase bite force in humans (median 665.00 N (IQR = 632.70) to 719.30 N (IQR = 607.80)).

    “Similarly, bite force significantly increased from a median of 665.00 N (IQR = 632.70) to 719.30 N (IQR = 607.80; p = 0.007) following the intervention.”

    Human trial6 weeksn = 77

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

    BMC geriatrics

  2. Oral exercises increase bite force in humans (p =0.016).

    “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.”

    Human trial6 weeksfemales

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

    BMC geriatrics

Swallowing ability

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Oral exercises improve swallowing ability in humans (median 8.00 (IQR = 7.00) to 10.00 (IQR = 9.00)).

    “In contrast, a significant improvement was observed in swallowing frequency, increasing from a median of 8.00 (IQR = 7.00) to 10.00 (IQR = 9.00; p = 0.007).”

    Human trial6 weeksn = 77

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

    BMC geriatrics

  2. Oral exercises improve swallowing ability in humans (p = 0.021).

    “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.”

    Human trial6 weeksfemales

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

    BMC geriatrics

Number of oral hypofunction criteria

downin humans1

1 study

  1. Oral exercises decrease number of oral hypofunction criteria in humans.

    “A significant main effect of time was observed for the number of applicable items for oral hypofunction (F(1, 54) = 16.456, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.234), suggesting improvement in oral function followings.”

    Human trial3 monthsn = 60

    Effects of an oral exercise intervention on pre-frailty or frailty in older people: a randomized clinical trial

    Communications medicine

Number of frailty criteria

downin humans1

1 study

  1. Oral exercises decrease number of frailty criteria in humans.

    “A two-way repeated measures ANOVA in the ITT analysis revealed a significant main effect of time for this outcome (F (1, 54) = 14.803, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.215), indicating an overall reduction in frailty criteria after the intervention across all frequency groups.”

    Human trial3 monthsn = 60

    Effects of an oral exercise intervention on pre-frailty or frailty in older people: a randomized clinical trial

    Communications medicine

Dietary habits

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Oral exercises have no effect on dietary habits in humans.

    “The frequency of ingesting twelve foods (BDHQ) did not vary significantly (p = 0.107 − 0.773).”

    Human trialonce a day3 monthsn = 16

    The Effect of Oral Function Improvement on Dietary Habits in Older Adults Requiring Support Care

    Nursing research and practice

Masticatory force

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Oral exercises improve masticatory force in humans.

    “Tongue pressure (p < 0.001), /pa/syllable (p=0.004), and/ta/syllable (p = 0.018), and masticatory force (p = 0.012) significantly improved after the intervention, but the/ka/syllable (p = 0.894) did not.”

    Human trialonce a day3 monthsn = 16

    The Effect of Oral Function Improvement on Dietary Habits in Older Adults Requiring Support Care

    Nursing research and practice

Frailty

downin humans1

1 study

  1. Oral exercises decrease frailty in humans (-1.1 points, 95% CI: -1.5 to -0.7, p < 0.01).

    “Oral exercises significantly improved muscle strength and weight, leading to frailty score reductions (-1.1 points, 95% CI: -1.5 to -0.7, p < 0.01).”

    Review

    Impact of Oral Health Interventions on Sarcopenia and Frailty in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

    Journal of clinical medicine

What is Oral exercises linked with?

1

Studies link Oral exercises with 1 measure, most often number of oral hypofunction criteria (1 study).

Number of oral hypofunction criteria

mixedin humans1

1 study

  1. Oral exercises are associated with number of oral hypofunction criteria in humans (F = 16.456; partial eta squared = 0.234).

    “The main effect of time is also significant for the number of oral hypofunction criteria”

    Human trialOlder adults with pre-frailty or frailty; main effect of time across exercise frequency groups3 monthsn = 58

    Effects of an oral exercise intervention on pre-frailty or frailty in older people: a randomized clinical trial

    Communications medicine

What acts on Oral exercises?

1

Studies name 1 thing that act on Oral exercises, most often health education (1 study).

Health education

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Health education increases oral exercises in humans (13% to 40%, p=0.002).

    “the proportion of participants performing oral exercises (13% to 40%, p=0.002)”

    Human trialbiannually from March 2022 to February 2024n = 60

    Effects of providing information on oral function and dietary intake to members of senior citizens clubs

    Nihon Ronen Igakkai zasshi. Japanese journal of geriatrics

More on Health education

Latest

Nov 2025: 0Dec 2025: 0Jan 2026: 1Feb 2026: 0Mar 2026: 1Apr 2026: 0May 2026: 0Jun 2026: 0Jul 2026: 0Aug 2026: 0Sep 2026: 0Oct 2026: 13 papers in 12 months

See all 12

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