Oral health status and treatment needs of hearing impaired children attending a special school”

Abstract

Background: Children who are hard of hearing (CHI) face special barriers while trying to get the medical care they need. They have serious dental problems and need considerable treatment. Aim: This study was out to determine the state of dental health among special education students who were also CHI and the extent of their treatment needs. Study Design: The study design was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in India during the month of November 2022 at the Special School for the Deaf. There were a total of 200 CHI participants, both sexes included; they ranged in age from 6 to 16 and were divided into three groups: Group-I (children ages 6-8), Group-II (children ages 9 to 12), and Group-III (children ages 13 to 16). Researchers used World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations from 1997 to record patients' dental health and the treatments they required. “Prevalence of dental caries was measured (calculated as decayed, missing, and filled teeth [DMFT/dmft]), as was the severity of gingivitis (Le, Silness Gingival Index) and plaque (Silness, Le Plaque Index) and the need for treatment. Statistical Analysis: The data was analyzed using the Z-test for percentage, one-way analysis of variance, and the Chi-square test. Results: A total of 65% of the sample showed evidence of dental caries, with means of 1.5DMFT in Group-I, 2.0 DMFT in Group-II, and 2.1 DMFT in Group-III, respectively. Approximately 90% of all children screened need medical attention.”Sample mean scores for plaque were 1.5 and gingivitis scores were 1.3. Conclusion: These results suggest a catastrophic oral health status because to CHI. Therefore, it is imperative that preventative educational and motivating initiatives aimed at this key demographic be implemented.