Effectiveness of Different Educational Methods on Oral Health in 7-13-year-old Visually Impaired Children in Tehran: A Randomized Trial

Abstract

Background: Conventional oral health education is not suitable for visually impaired children. Objectives: Considering the importance of oral health, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of different educational methods on oral hygiene status. Methods: Following a clinical trial design, 88 visually impaired children, aged 7 to 13 years, living in Tehran were recruited and randomly allocated to four groups of verbal-tactile, verbal-braille, multisensory, and control. Initially, all children were well informed about the importance of oral hygiene; then, the baseline levels of plaque score and gingivitis were recorded by Silness & Loe plaque index and Loe & Silness gingival index, respectively. Experimental groups received oral health education through different methods. The instructions were repeated after one month, and plaque and gingival indices were reevaluated after two months. Data analysis was administered by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and posthoc tests using SPSS 20.0. Results: After receiving the intervention, all groups showed a decrease in plaque and gingival indices, with the most reduction in the multisensory group (with a statistically significant difference (P = 0.0001) between multisensory & control for both plaque & gingival indices). The least change was observed in the verbal-braille group compared to the control (for plaque index and gingival index after two months (P = 0.04) and (P = 0.17), respectively). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the multisensory method (verbal-tactile-braille) is the best option to educate visually impaired children, with significantly more acceptable results.

The implications of oral health education interventions in providing oral hygiene care for individuals with visual impairment: A systematic review

“…This SLR revealed that different OHE programs/interventions were effective, either individually or combined. Indeed, almost all of the included articles with good to poor/limited quality showed significant improvements in OH status and dental disease prevention in individuals with VI 3,32–44 . Of the 21 included articles, a few with short/unspecified durations or small sample sizes concluded with only improvement in knowledge or OH among individuals with VI 20,45–48 …”

“…36 Furthermore, recent studies noted that braille was more effective in individuals with VI when used with other methods, such as tactile, verbal, audio, or other customized aids. 34,39,44,49 . In contrast, Das et al 38 found that a novel OHE intervention (ATP) had a similar effect on maintaining gingival health and removing plaque to the traditional method combining audio and braille text.…”

“…Furthermore, recent studies noted that braille was more effective in individuals with VI when used with other methods, such as tactile, verbal, audio, or other customized aids 34,39,44,49 …”

“…Indeed, almost all of the included articles with good to poor/limited quality showed significant improvements in OH status and dental disease prevention in individuals with VI. 3,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] Of the 21 included articles, a few with short/unspecified durations or small sample sizes concluded with only improvement in knowledge or OH among individuals with VI. 20,[45][46][47][48] The effects of the interventions in the selected articles for preserving and maintaining dental/oral cavity health in individuals with VI through improved skills and knowledge were evaluated by assessing their clinical outcomes, such as the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index, Oral Hygiene Index, Plaque Index, Oral Hygiene and Gingival Index, Sillness and Loe Plaque Index, and Loe and Sillness Gingival Index.…”

Are Teachers Working with Visually Impaired Children Prepared to Be Advocates of Oral Health? Pilot Study

“…Children and adolescents with visual impairment are at increased risk of oral cavity diseases [3][4][5]. Unfortunately, they also have to overcome more barriers in accessing dental treatment compared to healthy people and, as a result, they visit the dentists less often than they should [6,7]. Their pro-health education and the role of tutors and school counsellors are extremely important.…”