Assessment of oral hygiene habits and oral health status in 4‒12-year-old visually impaired children in Isfahan

Oral health care in visually impaired children is a challenge for health care providers. The aim of this study was to assess the oral hygiene status, dental care needs and oral health behaviors of 4‒12-year-old visually impaired children in Isfahan Province. In this cross-sectional/analytical study, all the visually impaired 4‒12-year-old children under education in Isfahan Welfare and Education Organization underwent thorough oral examinations. Information about oral hygiene habits, dental caries status (dmft and DMFT), gingival index (GI), oral hygiene index and trauma status were recorded. Descriptive and analytical statistical tests, including ANOVA, t-test, chi-squared and Mann-Whitney were used. Linear regression analysis was also conducted to estimate the effect of potential factors on DMFT (α=0.05). A total of 119 children, 19.3% aged 4-6 years and 80.7% aged 6-12 years, were examined; 61.3% had good oral hygiene and 38% had a history of head and face trauma, especially in the 4‒6 age group (p value = 0.032). 49.2% of children, especially the 6‒12-year-old ones (p value < 0.01), reported regular use of toothbrushes. Only 14.4% of children had normal gingiva without inflammation according to GI index. The mean of dmft and the total DMFT were 4.1±4.3 and 3.7±3.2, respectively, without any significant differences between the two age groups. Regression model revealed that only age (β coefficient = -0.5, p value < 0.001) and the frequency of tooth brushing (β coefficient = 0.9, p value = 0.04) were significantly in correlation to DMFT (R2 = 0.15). Dental caries status in the children in our study was above the state and province norms in the 4‒12-year age group. On the other hand, the oral health status and behaviors in these children improved with aging.