Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation Protocol for older people: validity, psychometric properties, and association with oral health and age.

PURPOSE

To develop a comprehensive assessment protocol for identifying, classifying and grading changes in stomatognathic system components and functions of older people, to determine its psychometric properties and verify its association with oral health and age.

METHODS

The content validity of the Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation with Scores for Elders protocol (OMES-Elders) was established based on the literature. The protocol contains three domains: appearance/posture, mobility, and functions of the stomatognathic system. Eighty-two healthy elder volunteers (mean age 69±7.24 years) were evaluated using the OMES-Elders. A test-screening for orofacial disorders (reference) was used to analyze the concurrent validity (correlation test), sensitivity, specificity and accuracy (Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve: ROC curve) of the OMES-Elders. The association of the OMES-Elders scores with the Oral Health Index (OHX) and age in the sample was tested.

RESULTS

There was a significant correlation between the OMES-Elders and the reference test (p < 0.001). Reliability coefficients ranged from good (0.89) to excellent (0.99). The OMES-Elders protocol had a sensitivity of 82.9%, specificity of 83.3% and accuracy of 0.83. The scores of the protocol were significantly lower in individuals with worse oral health (OHX ≤ 61%), although individuals with adequate oral health (OHX ≥ 90%) also had myofunctional impairments. The predictors OHX and age explained, respectively, 33% and 30% of the variance in the OMES-Elders total score.

CONCLUSION

As the first specific orofacial myofunctional evaluation of older people, the OMES-Elders protocol proved to be valid, reliable and its total score was associated with oral health and age.