Dental health status of visually impaired individuals attending special school for blind in Ahmedabad city, India

Abstract

Aim: To assess the dental health status of visually impaired individuals attending the special school for blind in Ahmedabad city, India. Materials and Methods: A study was conducted in three blind schools of Ahmedabad city. A total 160 blind individuals (100 males and 60 females) with mean age of 14.66 ± 3.27 years were included in the study. Information regarding oral hygiene practices was gathered through personal interactions from the school teachers. Oral hygiene status was assessed by using Oral Hygiene Index - Simplified while the dental caries status and treatment was assessed by using WHO methodology 1997. All the results were analyzed statistically at 5% level of significance. Results: The oral hygiene practices among the study subjects were satisfactory. While the oral hygiene status was varied from moderate to low grade, the status of oral hygiene in the study subjects was worse as the age advances. The overall prevalence of dental caries was found to be around 46.88% and the mean dmft/DMFT score increases with the age. 109 (68.13%) individuals needed the treatment in any form. Out of 109, 74 (67.88%) individuals needed at least one surface filling. Conclusion: The study clearly revealed that the oral hygiene status amongst the above class of individuals was moderate with high prevalence of dental caries for the very reason of not getting the benefits of treatment needs. Hence, proper planning is the need of the hour by the general as well as public health dentists to address the prevailing discrepancies in oral health and hygiene system among the individuals of this special group.