Oral health status of students with visual or hearing impairments in Northeast China

Jian Li; Kaiqiang Zhang; Chang Cha; Zhenfu Lu; Lu Liu

doi:10.1186/s12903-023-02923-1

Oral health status of students with visual or hearing impairments in Northeast China

BMC Oral Health. 2023 Apr 26;23(1):242. doi: 10.1186/s12903-023-02923-1.

Authors

Jian Li¹, Kaiqiang Zhang¹, Chang Cha¹, Zhenfu Lu¹, Lu Liu²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Dentistry, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Liaoning Provincial Key laboratory of Oral Diseases, China Medical University, Nanjing North Street, No.117, 110101, Shenyang, China.
² Department of Preventive Dentistry, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Liaoning Provincial Key laboratory of Oral Diseases, China Medical University, Nanjing North Street, No.117, 110101, Shenyang, China. an_lann@sina.com.

Abstract

Background: Visual or hearing impairments in students seriously affect their quality of life. The aim of this study was to identify oral hygiene status and its influencing factors on visual or hearing impairments in students in Northeast China.

Methods: This study was conducted in May 2022. A total of 118 visually impaired students and 56 hearing impaired students from Northeast China were included in this study via census. Oral examinations and questionnaire-based surveys of students and their teachers were conducted. The oral examinations included caries experience, prevalence of gingival bleeding and dental calculus. The questionnaires included three parts: Social demographics (residence, sex and race) and parents' educational level; Oral hygiene habits and medical treatment behaviors; Knowledge and attitudes towards oral health care. This questionnaire was selected from the Fourth China National Oral Health Survey and the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were previously tested. T tests, one-way ANOVA, χ² tests and multivariate logistic analyses were conducted to evaluate the differences and dependent variables of dental caries.

Results: The prevalence of dental caries in visually impaired and hearing impaired students were 66.10% and 66.07%. The mean number of DMFT, prevalence of gingival bleeding and dental calculus in visually impaired students were 2.71 ± 3.06, 52.08% and 59.38%, respectively. The mean number of DMFT, prevalence of gingival bleeding and dental calculus in hearing impaired students were 2.57 ± 2.83, 17.86% and 42.86%, respectively. The results of the multivariate logistic analysis showed that fluoride use and parents' educational background had an impact on the caries experience of visually impaired students. The daily toothbrushing frequency and parents' educational background had an impact on the caries experience of hearing impaired students.

Conclusions: The oral health situation of students with visual or hearing impairments remains severe. It is still necessary to promote oral and general health in this population.

Keywords: Dental; Hearing impairment; Oral hygiene; Visual impairment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China / epidemiology
DMF Index
Dental Calculus
Dental Caries* / epidemiology
Health Status
Hearing Loss* / epidemiology
Humans
Oral Health
Prevalence
Quality of Life
Reproducibility of Results
Students