Abstract
Children with hearing impairment (CHI) have poor oral health and extensive unmet treatment needs. This could be attributed to their inability to cooperate with dental treatment and lack of oral health awareness due to communication barriers. The aim of this study was to verify the impact of visual instruction on oral hygiene status of CHI. Prospective triple blind interventional study. Oral hygiene status of 372 institutionalized CHI aged 6-16 years, divided into study (180) and control groups (192) was evaluated using Loe and Silness Gingival index and Silness and Loe Plaque index. Motivation in the form of visual instruction was done in the study group every weekend for 12 weeks and control group was followed without motivation. Oral hygiene status was re-assessed and analyzed. Paired t-test was used to compare the scores before and after the instructions. Unpaired t-test was used for intergroup comparison between the study and control groups. There was a significant mean reduction of plaque (0.37) and gingival scores (0.39) in the study group, but only marginal reduction of plaque (0.08) and gingival scores (0.1) observed in the control group. Significant gender and age variations were observed. Visual instruction was found to be an effective oral health education tool in CHI.
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