Impact of oral health education by audio aids, braille and tactile models on the oral health status of visually impaired children of Bhopal City

Context: Children with special needs face unique challenges in day-to-day practice. They are dependent on their close ones for everything. To improve oral hygiene in such visually impaired children, undue training and education are required. Braille is an important language for reading and writing for the visually impaired. It helps them understand and visualize the world via touch. Audio aids are being used to impart health education to the visually impaired. Tactile models help them perceive things which they cannot visualize and hence are an important learning tool. Aim: This study aimed to assess the improvement in oral hygiene by audio aids and Braille and tactile models in visually impaired children aged 6–16 years of Bhopal city. Settings and Design: This was a prospective study. Materials and Methods: Sixty visually impaired children aged 6–16 years were selected and randomly divided into three groups (20 children each). Group A: audio aids + Braille, Group B: audio aids + tactile models, and Group C: audio aids + Braille + tactile models. Instructions were given for maintaining good oral hygiene and brushing techniques were explained to all children. After 3 months' time, the oral hygiene status was recorded and compared using plaque and gingival index. Statistical Analysis Used: ANNOVA test was used. Results: The present study showed a decrease in the mean plaque and gingival scores at all time intervals in individual group as compared to that of the baseline that was statistically significant. Conclusions: The study depicts that the combination of audio aids, Braille and tactile models is an effective way to provide oral health education and improve oral health status of visually impaired children

Impact of various sociodemographic factors on oral hygiene of mentally retarded residing in Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Oral health of the mentally retarded (MR) has received scant attention in the literature compared with the normal child even though they are much sufferer. Aim: To assess the impact of various sociodemographic factors on oral hygiene of MR subjects of Bhopal city. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 267 MR subjects enrolled at various institutions of Bhopal city. A pretested proforma was used to record information about demographic data, socioeconomic status, the intelligent quotient of inmates, type of mental retardation, and dietary habits. The clinical examination was done to evaluate oral hygiene of subjects using oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-S). Descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, analysis of variance and multiple linear regression analysis was applied using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results: The mean OHI-S of MR was found out to be 2.51. Male had mean OHI-S of 2.95 while female had 1.65. Noninstitutionalized had poorer oral hygiene with mean OHI-S of 3.2. According to the degree of mental retardation, profound had the highest OHI-S score, i.e. 3.71 while mild had the lowest score, i.e. 1.01

Traumatic dental injuries to the anterior teeth among 12-year and 15-year-old schoolchildren of urban and rural areas of Bhopal District, Central India: A prevalence study

Background: Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are one such condition that can occur at any age, but the trauma to children′s teeth occurs quite frequently. TDIs involving the anterior teeth may not only lead to restriction in biting, phonetics, and esthetics but also have an impact on a child′s personality and quality of life. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of the TDIs of the permanent anterior teeth among 12-year- and 15-year-old schoolchildren of urban and rural areas of Bhopal district, Central India. Materials and Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried on 1100 schoolchildren. For the selection of schools, a three-stage sampling procedure was adopted. A specially prepared and pretested pro forma designed for collecting all the required and relevant general information and clinical findings. The pro forma including the demographic data and questions regarding history of injury to detect the cause, place, duration of trauma to anterior teeth as well as those seeking the treatment for concerned problem was recorded. For clinical examination of TDI to anterior permanent teeth, the World Health Organization (International Classification of Diseases to Dentistry and Stomatology) classification of tooth fracture was used. SPSS version 20 was used for the statistical analysis. The Chi-square test used for categorical data. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence rate of TDIs to permanent incisor teeth was 12.8%. The prevalence of TDI was higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. The major cause of TDI was sports activities. Conclusion: This indicates the need for community health activities and awareness program

Tobacco cessation and counseling: A dentists′ perspective in Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh

Introduction: Dental team has high potential to help smokers to better oral/general health but to achieve this; they need to be clear about their role. Considering the importance of tobacco cessation, the authors carried out this study aimed at assessing the role, knowledge, current practices, different barriers, and tools to overcome the same as perceived by dentists in Bhopal city. Materials and Methods: A self-administered structured, coded questionnaire was distributed to 200 private practitioners and the teaching staff in all the dental colleges in Bhopal city. Results: Out of 200 dentists to whom questionnaire was administered, 168 responded within a week′s time resulting in a high response rate of 84%. A total of 97% of the dentists agreed that it is the duty of every dentist to advice patients about tobacco cessation. A total of 58% strongly agree that formal training will be an effective tool to provide the guidelines to dentists in tobacco cessation and counseling. Conclusion: Monitoring of effective planning and execution of these programs by appropriate authorities at regular intervals is vital for successful achievement of the goal of "Tobacco Free Society.

Oral hygiene practices and its relationship with periodontal status among police personnel of Bhopal city, Central India: An epidemiological study

Background: To assess the oral hygiene practices, oral health awareness, and oral health status of police personnel in Bhopal city and to suggest measures to improve the present oral health status. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted on 781 subjects, mean aged 40.5 years, who were selected by simple random sampling. Type-III examination of the subjects was conducted and along with questionnaire, community periodontal index (CPI), loss of attachment index and decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) data was recorded on modified W.H.O format 1997. A value of P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Awareness related to oral health diseases, its cause, and prevention was low among police personnel. DMFT was significantly lower among this group. CPI score 2 was highest among the majority of subjects. Subjects brushing twice daily had significantly healthy periodontium than those brushing once daily. Conclusion: Most of the police personnel lack oral health awareness and suffer from periodontal diseases. Awareness should be created to maintain good oral hygiene, regular dental checkup and refrain from smoking among police personnel

A comparison of oral hygiene status and dental caries experience among institutionalized visually impaired and hearing impaired children of age between 7 and 17 years in central India

Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the oral hygiene status and dental caries experience among institutionalized visually impaired and hearing impaired children of age between 7 and 17 years in Bhopal city of Madhya Pradesh located in Central India. Materials and Methods: A total of 95 hearing impaired and 48 visually impaired children of age between 7 and 17 years were recruited from special care institutions (one institution of hearing impaired and two institutions of visually impaired) in Bhopal city. Information related to different study variables was obtained from both groups. Oral hygiene index simplified (OHI[S]), decayed,extracted, filled teeth (deft and DECAYED, MISSING, FILLED TETTH (DMFT)) indices were used to record the oral hygiene status and dental caries experience. Results: Mean OHI(S) score for hearing impaired was 1.15 ± 0.72 while it was 1.51 ± 0.93 for visually impaired children (P < 0.05). Mean DMFT score was 1.4 ± 1.95 and 0.94 ± 1.45 among hearing impaired and visually impaired respectively. The hearing impaired had a mean deft score of 0.47 ± 1.01 and in visually impaired it was 0.19 ± 0.79 and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Oral hygiene status of hearing impaired children was better than visually impaired and the difference was statistically significant. There was no significant difference between both groups with respect to DMFT. The hearing impaired children had significantly higher deft than visually impaired

Perceptions Regarding Treatment by Dental Quacks and Self-Rated Oral Health Among the Residents of Bhopal City, Central India

Introduction: Dental quackery has become one of the most unethical practices misleading majority of the Indian population. It has become prevalent to such a grass-roots level that curbing this menace is becoming very difficult. This mockery of dental practice imparts unethical dental care to the innocent people and results in complications, which sometimes lead to death of the individual. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of visits to dental quacks, and to describe the factors influencing these visits. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of 3 months in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Study participants were recruited from one of the satellite centres of a private dental institution. Information regarding visits to dental quacks, reasons for the visit and self-rated oral health was obtained from the participants using structured questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. The obtained data were analysed using chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of 314 people who visited the centre during the study period, 280 (92%) agreed to participate in the study. The prevalence of the visits to dental quacks was 42.1%. The participants who visited quacks were older and less educated. The reason for preferring a quack to a dentist was primarily because of the referrals provided by the family members and peers. The most common reason for visiting a quack was toothache (66.1%), and tooth extraction was the most common treatment received (33.8%). Conclusion: Age and level of education significantly influenced the visits to dental quacks and are the two major factors influencing such visits

Upshot of syrup medicines on children′s oral health: An appraise

In 2002, the American Academy Of Pediatric Dentistry had developed the Caries-risk Assessment Tool (CAT) based on a set of physical, environmental and general health factors. One of the components of CAT is children with chronic medical conditions requiring long term medication being at a risk of dental caries as a side-effect. Children on long term medication due to medical conditions consume syrups in bulk. The child′s oral health is often neglected due to the preoccupation of the parent with the child′s medical problem. Sometimes physicians are unaware of the high sugar content of medications. This review explores the detrimental effects of paediatric medications on oral health administered to chronically ill children and the risk to which children are exposed unknowingly