The self-reported oral health status and behaviors of adults who are deaf and blind

Assessing effectiveness of braille and audio-tactile performance technique in improving oral hygiene status of young adults with visual impairment

INTRODUCTION

Young adults with Visual impairment (VI) challenge the dentists' skills and knowledge due to a higher risk of developing oral diseases due to difficulty in attaining good oral hygiene (OH).

AIMS

To assess the effectiveness of ATP (Audio-Tactile Performance) technique and braille versus braille alone in improving OH status of young adults with VI.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

A parallel arm, randomized controlled trial was conducted among 70 young adults with VI. Participants were randomly allocated to either test group (braille combined with ATP) or control group (braille alone). A pre-validated braille questionnaire was used to obtain the baseline data followed by clinical examination. OH status assessment was recorded through Gingival Index (GI) and Plaque Index (PI) proforma followed by a thorough ultrasonic oral prophylaxis. Periodic reinforcement was carried out on the 7th day, after 1 month and 3 months. The outcomes were assessed at the end of 3rd and 6th month.

RESULTS

There was an increase in the knowledge scores after 3 and 6 months and attitude scores, GI scores and PI scores after 6 months in the test group compared to the control group and this difference was found to be statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study showed that a combination of ATP and braille proved to be more effective than braille alone in improving the knowledge and OH status of young adults with VI.

Assessment of oral health knowledge and motivation level in dental disease prevention among the population with limited mobility and specialists

Relevance. The level of oral health knowledge directly affects the level of oral health. The study aims to study the level of oral health and oral disease knowledge and motivation among the population with limited mobility and specialists.Materials and methods. The study analyzed the results of the target audience survey. We developed questionnaires for children and specialists on the level of knowledge of dental disease prevention, motivation for oral care education, the quality and structure of classes with children, and specialist needs to use various related materials for conducting such educational lessons. The survey involved 178 children, of which 112 had eye disorders, and 66 children composed the control group. We also interviewed 53 specialists (dentists). The children oral responses were recorded, and specialists answered the multiple-choice survey questions in writing.

Results. The study results showed a low level of oral health knowledge in schoolchildren with eye disorders, despite their high motivation to study compared to the control group (systemically healthy children). The survey revealed an acute shortage of special teaching aids for visually impaired children among specialists despite the ongoing oral health education programs.Conclusions. The study concluded that it is necessary to develop and standardize specific education methods on the dental disease prevention for blind and visually impaired children.

Dental management of patients with sensory impairments

This article discusses the different types of sensory impairments and their aetiology. It considers how the oral health status in patients with sensory impairments is impacted by their disability and the barriers these patients face in dental care. It also discusses legislation relevant to dental care professionals when caring for patients with disabilities, including the Mental Capacity Act (2005), the Equality Act (2010) and the Accessible Information Standard (2016). Finally, it provides recommendations to dental care professionals on how they can best manage patients with sensory impairments and communicate with them effectively in order to provide them with quality dental care.

The need for a Smart Phone Application to Facilitate Communication Between Deaf-Mute and Hearing-Impaired Patients and Dentists

Objective

This study aims to determine the difficulty of communication between deaf-mute and hearing-impaired individuals, and their dentists and the need for an application to facilitate communication.

Materials and methods

This is a cross-sectional study. A self-reported questionnaire was distributed among individuals with hearing disability. We measured demographic data, deaf-mute and hearing-impaired patients experience at the dental office, their interest and ability to use modern means of communication, and their willingness to use smartphones, tablets or computers to communicate with their dentists. Fisher's Exact test was used to determine association between different variables with cut-off point (P < 0.05).

Results

58.5% of individuals with deafness or hearing impairment have visited dental offices. 51% of individuals reported they could not understand their dentists during visits. 45.3% stated that their complaints were understood. 30.2% of the information given by dentists were clear to them and only 24.5% of individuals were given all necessary information. 73.58% of all individuals are willing to use mobile applications to facilitate communication if recommended by their dentists.

Conclusions

Many individuals with hearing disability are facing difficulties in communication in the dental office. The majority of them are willing to use a mobile application to help them communicate better with their dentists.

Mothers view about oral health status, oral hygiene behaviors, and dental services utilization of their children with hearing impairment attending special schools

AIM

Parents are the principal decision-makers regarding their child's health. Awareness of mothers' view about their children's health, particularly with special health care needs (SHCN) (include hearing impaired children), is essential for health care providers. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the mothers view about oral health status, oral hygiene practices, and dental services utilization of their children with hearing impairment attending special schools.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted between May and September 2020 among mothers of students with hearing impairment attending special schools. Also, the telephone structured interview was used to gathering mothers view.

RESULTS

57.4% of the mothers rated their children's oral health status as excellent or good, 27.9% as moderate, and 14.7% as poor. About half of the mothers (49.2%) stated that their children used toothbrushes once daily, and 15% use dental floss. Also, 54% of the children visited the dentist before this survey's conduct.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the present study suggest that children with hearing impairment can also have good oral health status and behaviors. These results may be attributed to the fact that the study sample was taken from two special schools. Also, only the mothers' perception assessment of students' oral health status was done. Further studies are required to increase the strength of evidence.