The World Health Organization (2011) recently estimated that 285 million people are visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind and 246 million have low vision. In Turkey, the results of the disability statistics calculated by the Turkish Statistical Institute (2002) revealed that 12.29% of the total population was disabled and 0.60% of these people were visually impaired. ORAL HEALTH OF INDIVIDUALS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS Visual impairment may have an impact on oral health because of physical, social, or informational barriers that are related to the impairment (Edwards & Merry, 2002; Lebowitz, 1974). Previous studies reported that individuals with visual impairments tended to have a larger amount of dental plaque and were at a higher risk for dental diseases than were sighted individuals (Greeley, Goldstein, & Forrester, 1976; Schembri & Fiske, 2001). Anaise (1979) compared the periodontal status and oral hygiene of a group of Israeli teenagers who were blind and those who were sighted. His results suggested that the oral health of the sighted group was better than that of the group who were blind. Moreover, the students with low vision had lower rates of periodontal disease than did those who were totally blind. Dental professionals should be aware of the inherent problems of and limitations imposed on patients by their sensory impairment (Mahoney, Kumar, & Porter, 2008; Schembri & Fiske, 2001). They should know the best ways to communicate with children who are visually impaired and to make them familiar with the dental setting. Maintaining oral health is central to a high quality of life because it limits the risks of disease. The oral health status of children with visual impairments should be investigated so their health care needs can be determined and preventive dental procedures can be implemented. The aim of the study presented here was to evaluate the oral health status of a group of children with visual impairments in Istanbul and to compare the oral health status of these children with that of sighted children. METHODS Ethical approval for the research was granted by the Yeditepe University Human Subjects Ethical Committee. Signed informed consent forms were obtained from the parents of all the participants according to the Helsinki Declaration. Participants Fifty children, aged 6-10, with no systemic diseases were randomly chosen from one primary public school for children who are visually impaired in Istanbul. All 50 children were totally blind. In addition, 50 sighted healthy children of the same age range were randomly chosen from one primary public school that was in the same socioeconomic district as the chosen primary public school for children with visual impairments in Istanbul. These children were in the control group (see Table 1). Procedures Intraoral examination. An experienced pediatric dentist performed the intraoral examination of all the children who participated in the study. The examinations of the children with visual impairments were performed after the children were allowed to touch and feel the dental chair, dental equipment, and instruments. Oral examinations were performed, and the dental findings were recorded at the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic of Yeditepe University. Caries indexes. The prevalence and severity of dental caries were determined using the DMF (decayed-missing-filled) index. During the intraoral examination, the values for DMFT (decayed-missing-filled permanent teeth), DMFS (decayed-missing-filled permanent teeth surface), dft (decayed-filled primary teeth), dfs (decayed-filled primary teeth surface) were recorded. DMFT and DMFS describe the amount-prevalence--of dental caries in permanent dentition. They are means to express the prevalence of caries numerically and are calculated by summing the number of decayed (D), missing (M), filled (F) teeth (T) or surfaces (S). …