Effect of specially designed oral health preventive programme on oral health of visually impaired children: use of audio and tactile aids

Introduction: Contemporary methods of teaching oral hygiene for the removal of dental plaque are not beneficial for visually impaired children, who depend on tactile sensations and hearing for learning. The present study was conducted to educate and motivate visually impaired children to maintain their oral health using specially designed methods that are easy for these children to understand. Additionally, the study evaluated the effectiveness of these methods over a 6-month period. Methodology: The investigation was done on 148 visually impaired children who were residents of two institutes for the visually impaired. The efficacy of a specially designed oral health education programme and two different motivational techniques utilising tactile (Group I: braille + plastic models) or auditory sensations (Group II: audio story + JAWS®, i.e. Job Access With Speech) was evaluated over 6 months based on the children’s plaque and gingival scores. Results: Significant improvement in mean plaque and gingival scores was evident in both the groups at the 6-month evaluation, validating the effectiveness of both the programmes. In Group I, the mean plaque score decreased from 1.34 ± 0.29 at baseline to 1.09 ± 0.26 at 3 months, with a further decrease to 1.04 ± 0.31 at 6 months post-implementation (P < 0.01). The mean plaque score in Group II decreased from 1.24 ± 0.47 at baseline to 1.15 ± 0.15 at 3 months (P = 0.12), and further to 1.10 ± 0.17 at 6 months (P < 0.01) post-implementation of the educational programme. At baseline, 87.8% of the children in Group I had moderate gingivitis, whereas 52.7% of the children in Group II belonged to the mild category. At the end of 6 months, 52.7% of the children in Group I were in the mild category, and 62.2% children in Group II were in the moderate category. Conclusion: Tactile and auditory measures were found to be effective in educating and motivating visually impaired children regarding maintenance of oral hygiene.Key words: Visually impaired persons, dental health education, tactile sense, education of visually disabled, oral hygiene