title: Effect of orofacial exercises on oral aperture in adults with systemic sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effect of a home orofacial exercise program on increasing oral aperture among adults with systemic sclerosis (SSc).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-eight adults with SSc were assigned randomly to the multifaceted oral-health intervention or usual dental care control group. Participants with an oral aperture of <40 mm in the intervention group received an orofacial exercise program, which included daily manual mouth-stretching and oral-augmentation exercises twice a day with a total of 6 minutes for 6 months. The outcome measure was oral aperture which was measured at baseline, 3-months, and 6-months intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significantly larger increase in oral aperture for participants received the orofacial exercise program was found when compared to those in the usual care at 3 months (P = 0.01), but not at 6-months evaluation. Participants' adherence rate to the exercise program was low (48.9%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The orofacial exercise program intervention for adults with SSc and microstomia did not show significant improvement at 6 months. In addition to the low exercise adherence rate, insufficient frequencies, repetitions, and durations of the orofacial exercises may contribute to these results.
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. yuen@uab.edu
authors.forename: Hon K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.forename: Nicole M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Marlow
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Summerlin
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Slate
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Silver
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008865:Microstomia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011788:Quality of Life; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome