Effectiveness of Oral Health Education Among Visually Challenged Children using Oral and Braille - A comparative study.

Background: The present investigation is motivated by the fact that the incidence of visual impairment is increasing all over the world. Visually challenged people may encounter specific problems in maintaining their oral hygiene, leading to a higher risk of periodontal diseases.

Materials And Methods: This comparative study was conducted among visually challenged 5-20 year old school children. A total of 40 children were selected from two different residential schools for the visually challenged. Prior consent was obtained from the respective school authorities and the parents or guardians through the school. Oral education by oral health talk was delivered via a lecture mode in one school, and the same information in braille script was administered in the other school. The demographic data, Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S) and Plaque Index (PI), was recorded before and after the intervention.

Results: The study showed that both modes of administering oral hygiene instructions were effective in improving the oral health status of the study subjects as shown by a reduction in the OHI-S scores. The mean reduction in the OHI-S score in the oral education group was 0.79 ± 0.22, while in the braille group, it was 0.46 ± 0.14. This difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.966). The mean reduction in Plaque Index score was 0.33 in oral education group and 0.16 in braille. This difference was statistically significant (P = 0.037).

Conclusions: In this study, we found that both the methods of oral hygiene instruction were equally effective in improving the oral health status of the visually disabled children.