Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Public Health Dentistry, SGT Dental College Hospital and Research Institute, SGT University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Abstract
CONTEXT: Vision is the most important sense for interpreting the world and when sight is impaired,
especially in childhood it can have detrimental effects on one’s life. To maintain the oral health status
of such group requires special approach.
AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of Braille text and verbal, oral hygiene instructions
on the oral health status of visually impaired children.
SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A prospective nonrandomized before and after comparison trial without
any control group was conducted among 165 children aged 7–19 years residing in one of the blind
schools in Delhi.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was developed to record the source of oral health
knowledge and practices. Oral health status of the children was evaluated by recording plaque
index (PI) and gingival index (GI) scores at 1, 3, and 5 months intervals. Periodic reinforcement of
oral health education was performed with the help of instructions in Braille language.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Paired t‑test and McNemar tests were used to assess the difference
between the scores before and after oral health education.
RESULTS: Among completely blind children, the mean difference of PI and GI score from baseline
to the last evaluation was found to be 0.56 and 0.28, whereas among partially blind children, it was
found to be 0.58 and 0.25, respectively. All the above values were statistically significant (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Visually impaired children irrespective of the degree of blindness could maintain an
acceptable level of oral hygiene when taught using Braille text for instructions. However, continuous
motivation and reinforcement at regular intervals are required for the maintenance of oral health status.
Keywords
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