Effectiveness of different oral health education interventions in visually impaired school children.

AIM: To assess the oral hygiene status, knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) in visually impaired children before and after imparting 3 different modes of oral health education.

METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: The present study was a nonrandomized interventional study conducted among visually impaired school children. Ninety visually impaired children aged 12-15 years were selected by lottery method and divided into 3 groups (30 children each). Group 1: ATP (audio, tactile, performance technique), Group 2: Braille, and Group 3: ATP + Braille. Twenty-item verbal questionnaire was developed to record their knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding oral hygiene before and after imparting oral health education. The oral hygiene status was recorded and compared using plaque and gingival index after 21-day, 1-, 6-, and 9-month interval. ANOVA, Tukey's post hoc, repeated measures ANOVA, and McNemar test were used. Group 3 showed highest percentage of reduction in plaque (55%) and gingival (52%) scores when compared with Group 1 and Group 2.

CONCLUSION: The combination of ATP (audio, tactile, and performance technique) and Braille is an effective way to improve oral hygiene status in visually impaired children. The KAP among these children also improved significantly after imparting oral health education.