Effectiveness of instructed tooth brushing on plaque and oral hygiene among the visually impaired children from a residential blind school in Pune – An interventional study

Abstract

Aim: The study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of instructed tooth brushing on plaque and oral hygiene among the visually impaired children from a residential blind school in Pune. Materials and Methods: An interventional study was conducted for 30 days at a residential Blind School for boys. Twenty-four blind children were recruited for the study. Baseline data were recorded using the modified patient hygiene performance (PHP) index and oral hygiene index-simplified (OHIS). Oral prophylaxis was undertaken. Oral health instruction pamphlet in Braille script was given to them. Supervised tooth brushing twice daily as per the musical audio instructions was performed for 30 days. Postintervention, the indices scores were recorded again. Paired t-test was used for comparison of pre and postintervention scores. Results: The modified PHP score pre and postintervention were 4.19 ± 0.54 and 1.81 ± 0.87, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant. The OHIS scores pre and postintervention were 3.31 ± 0.88 and 1.04 ± 0.54 and were also statistically significant. Conclusion: The present study revealed that the instructed tooth brushing program, along with oral prophylaxis and oral hygiene instructions in Braille for the visually impaired children for maintaining their oral hygiene is an effective method.