Assessment of the oral health status of visually impaired students after oral care instructions given to them.

Good oral care and adapting to proper tooth brushing technique can be a difficult task for the visually impaired individuals. Unlike the normal individuals, visually impaired ones cannot suspect the early dental problem in their oral cavity till it is symptomatic simply because they cannot visualize the intricacies of it. Hence, assessment of the oral health status in the visually impaired individuals and teaching them preventive oral care are extremely important for them. Objective: The study was undertaken to compare and assess the oral health status of the visually impaired students before and after giving them oral care instructions. Materials and Methods: A group of 120 visually impaired students was selected. They were subjected to simple dental examination and were given oral care instructions verbally. Proper tooth-brushing technique was taught to them individually. The subjects were evaluated as per the need of dental restorations, extractions, orthodontic treatment, oral prophylaxis and good dentition subjects needing no dental treatment. The same subjects were re-evaluated after four months under similar guidelines. The data collected from both the phases of dental examination was compared and subjected to analysis. Results: The present study did not show much of improvement of statistical significance though it did not show much of worsening in the oral health status of the visually impaired subjects as well. Summary and conclusion: The study emphasizes the serious need for repetitive and collective efforts with multi-dimensional cross-involvement for the better oral health status of the visually impaired individuals in the society. Key Words: Visually impaired, oral health, instructions, tooth-brushing technique.