A Comparison of the Oral Health Status of Children who are Blind and Children who are Sighted in Istanbul

Maintaining oral health is central to a high quality of life because it limits the risks of disease. The oral health status of children with visual impairments should be investigated so their health care needs can be determined and preventive dental procedures can be implemented. This paper presents a study that aimed to evaluate the oral health status of a group of children with visual impairments in Istanbul and to compare the oral health status of these children with that of sighted children. Ethical approval for the research was granted by the Yeditepe University Human Subjects Ethical Committee. Signed informed consent forms were obtained from the parents of all the participants according to the Helsinki Declaration. This study revealed that the caries and periodontal index values of the children who were blind were significantly higher than were those of the sighted children, even though both groups live in the same socioeconomic district in Istanbul. This finding is in line with that of Watson, Moles, Kumar, and Porter (2010) for the adults with visual impairments in their study. In addition, it may reflect the fact that the group who were blind had regular dental care less frequently than did the sighted group. Despite the dearth of research on the oral health status of children with visual impairments, the authors highly recommend that dentists consider these children to be at a high risk for caries and follow them at least four times a year. Proper education of teachers and parents regarding children's oral hygiene and tooth-brushing should be encouraged. (Contains 1 figure, 1 box, and 4 tables.)