Animated Modules Enhancing Tongue Strength and Endurance: Development and Evaluation

Objectives: This article aims to provide information on the development process of animated tongue strengthening exercise (TSE) modules and to compare their effectiveness in improving tongue strength and endurance.
Methods: The animated TSE modules were created step by step, starting with the creation of digital pictures using Procreate® and editing them into moving frames using Adobe Premiere Pro 2021®. A total of 200 participants, including 105 dentists and 95 non-dentists, were prospectively enrolled to evaluate the contents of the animated TSE modules through questionnaires. Subsequently, 65 subjects without a history of TSE or tongue-related surgery were randomly recruited and divided into 5 groups: control (no exercise), tongue click, tongue wrap, tongue painting, and tongue corner exercise groups. All subjects performed the exercises 3 times per day, every day for 4 weeks. Tongue strength (measured in kilopascals) and endurance (measured in seconds) were assessed in all subjects before and after the TSE using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI).
Results: According to the questionnaires, most participants evaluated the content of the animated TSE modules easy to understand. When comparing the correctness of TSE, participants who watched the animated TSE demonstrated greater accuracy in performing the exercises compared to those who relied on images in all modules (accuracy scores were 3.06±0.47 and 2.78±0.48, respectively). Among 5 groups who underwent TSE, there were no significant differences in initial tongue strength and endurance. However, after 4 weeks of TSE, there was a significant increase in both tongue strength and endurance across all TSE groups (p<0.05), except for tongue endurance in the tongue corner group (p>0.05). Notably, the tongue wrap exercise demonstrated the greatest improvement in both tongue strength and endurance.
Conclusions: This study provided evidence that animated TSE modules are effective in facilitating self-practicing TSE and improving tongue strength and endurance. Notably, among the different exercises evaluated, the tongue wrap exercise emerged as the most effective in enhancing both tongue strength and endurance.