Reliability of the function-oriented measurement of perioral muscles with the FaceFormer

Material and method

The FaceFormer is used clinically to measure the functional state of the perioral muscles. Using a lip force meter (Myo-Bar-Meter, ISST-Unna), the lip force is measured in 48 test subjects. 24 test subjects train for a total of 3 times 2 weeks, while 24 test subjects serve as a control group. The measurement is taken at the beginning and end of the examination/training phase and at two-week intervals in between. All results are measured in mBar, recorded using the SPSS statistics program (version 10.5.2) and subjected to statistical calculations.

Results

The measured values of both the control and the exercise group each show three maximum measured values at 20, 45 and 70 mBar. The test results with triple measurement can be reproduced very well or well, both when measured by one examiner (k=0.81) and by three examiners (k=0.76). There are clear training effects in the exercise group compared to the control group (p<0.001).

Conclusions

The results of lip pressure measurement using the FaceFormer are reproducible at a good to very good level. Initial results on the trainability of the perioral muscles (exercise group n=24) suggest that consistent use of the FaceFormer provides an effective, simple and inexpensive exercise device for myofunctional therapy.