Effect of oral health education in the form of Braille and oral health talk on oral hygiene knowledge, practices, and status of 12–17 years old visually impaired school girls in Pune city: A comparative study

AIM: To assess the effect of oral health education (OHE) in the form of Braille and combination with Oral health talk (OHT) on oral hygiene knowledge, practices, and status of 12–17 years old visually impaired school girls in Pune city. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 6-week comparative study was conducted among 74 residential visually impaired school girls aged 12–17 years, who were trained to read Braille. The participants were divided into two groups, namely, Group A (n = 37) receiving OHE only in the form of Braille and Group B (n = 37) receiving OHE in form of Braille and OHT at baseline, 2, and 4-week interval. Oral health knowledge was assessed using a self-administered, pre-validated, pre-tested questionnaire typed in Marathi Braille. Assessment of oral hygiene practices and status was done using standardized proforma and simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S), respectively, at baseline and at the end of 6 weeks. Data was analyzed using paired and unpaired Student's t-test. RESULTS: The results showed a statistically significant increase in oral health knowledge levels in Group B (4.95 ± 1.66) as compared to Group A (2.97 ± 1.28). There was a significant increase in the frequency of mouth-rinsing in Group B (97.3%) as compared to Group A (86.5%) as well as in the tongue cleaning practice in Group B (100%) as compared to Group A (81.1%) at the end of 6 weeks. CONCLUSION: OHE in the form of Braille and OHT was more effective than OHE using only Braille.