ABSTRACT

Objective : This study measured the orofacial muscular strength of healthy adults residing in a domestic area in Korea. By investigating the differences in orofacial muscular strength in relation to gender and age, this study attempted to look at factors influencing their swallowing skills.Methods : Using an Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI), the orofacial muscular strength was measured for 341 healthy adults with ages ranging from 20 to 89 from May 5, 2012. to Jan. 1,2013. Specifically, the strength of the forward and back elevations of their tongue, their buccinator muscle strength, and their lip strength were each measured three times, and the average score of each was then calculated.Results : The findings show that 1) the orofacial muscular strength of healthy Korea men is stronger than that of Korean women (p<.01), and 2) the older the participants are, the weaker their orofacial strength, regardless of their gender (p<.01).Conclusion : The IOPI scores of the participants showed that their orofacial muscular strength is affected by their age and gender, which may help guide future swallowing treatments.