HOLISTIC DENTAL APPROACH FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Visual impairment is one of the most common disabilty. It requires a lot of attention especially in the field of dentistry. These children are often deprived of oral health care needs due to dental neglect. This is a comprehensive review that focuses on prevalence, etiology as well as treatment modalities for these children. It comprises barriers to dental health and various methods which can be used to overcome the challenges.

Effectiveness of Different Educational Methods on Oral Health in 7-13-year-old Visually Impaired Children in Tehran: A Randomized Trial

Background: Conventional oral health education is not suitable for visually impaired children. Objectives: Considering the importance of oral health, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of different educational methods on oral hygiene status. Methods: Following a clinical trial design, 88 visually impaired children, aged 7 to 13 years, living in Tehran were recruited and randomly allocated to four groups of verbal-tactile, verbal-braille, multisensory, and control. Initially, all children were well informed about the importance of oral hygiene; then, the baseline levels of plaque score and gingivitis were recorded by Silness & Loe plaque index and Loe & Silness gingival index, respectively. Experimental groups received oral health education through different methods. The instructions were repeated after one month, and plaque and gingival indices were reevaluated after two months. Data analysis was administered by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and posthoc tests using SPSS 20.0. Results: After receiving the intervention, all groups showed a decrease in plaque and gingival indices, with the most reduction in the multisensory group (with a statistically significant difference (P = 0.0001) between multisensory & control for both plaque & gingival indices). The least change was observed in the verbal-braille group compared to the control (for plaque index and gingival index after two months (P = 0.04) and (P = 0.17), respectively). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the multisensory method (verbal-tactile-braille) is the best option to educate visually impaired children, with significantly more acceptable results.

ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN IN RELATION TO CHRONOLOGICAL AGE AND GENDER

The aim of this study was to examine the orientation and mobility in children with visual impairment in relation to gender and chronological age. The study included a sample of 35 respondents with visual impairment, aged between 7 and 15. The research was conducted in Sarajevo at the “Centre for Blind and Visually Impaired Children and Youth - Nedžarići” (Bosnian: Centar za slijepu i slabovidnu djecu i omladinu Nedžarići). The results of the research showed that there were statistically significant differences in relation to chronological age obtained on the variables “orientation indoors and in buildings” and “orientation in the yard”, and that there is a relation between orientation and mobility and chronological age on the variables “orientation indoors and in buildings” and “orientation in the yard”. Gender has no significant effect on the orientation and mobility abilities of visually impaired students.

Efektivitas Edukasi Kesehatan Gigi dengan Metode Kombinasi terhadap Tingkat Kebersihan Mulut pada Anak Tunanetra

Dental health education (DHE) is important to improve the community oral health. Visually impaired children who have limited vision require appropriate methods according to the acceptance of them by maximizing the provision of education through the senses other than sight in carrying out treatment and prevention efforts. This study was aimed to obtain the effectiveness of DHE using a combination method in visually impaired children. This was a literature review study using the Google Scholar database, PubMed/ National Library of Medicine (NCBI), and Springer Link. After data selection based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, a critical appraisal was carried out. There were 10 literatures (six literatures of randomized controlled trial studies and four literatures of nonrandomized controlled trial/quasi experimental studies). The results showed that on average, the oral hygiene index score was lower after the intervention compared to before the DHE intervention using a combination method (braille, audio, and tactile). Moreover, the intervention decreased significantly the plaque index score and increased the number of visually impaired children who had good oral hygiene categories. In conclusion, DHE for visually impaired children using a combination method is effective in improving oral hygiene.Keywords: dental health education (DHE); combination method; oral hygiene; visually impaired children Abstrak: Edukasi kesehatan gigi penting untuk meningkatkan kesehatan gigi dan mulut masyarakat. Anak tunanetra memiliki keterbatasan penglihatan sehingga memerlukan metode yang tepat dan sesuai penerimaan anak tunanetra dengan memaksimalkan pemberian edukasi melalui indra selain penglihatan dalam melakukan upaya perawatan dan pencegahan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui efektivitas edukasi kesehatan gigi dengan menggunakan metode kombinasi pada anak tunanetra. Jenis penelitian ialah suatu literature review dengan menggunakan pencarian database Google Scholar, PubMed/National Library of Medicine (NCBI), dan Springer Link. Setelah melalui seleksi data berdasarkan kriteria inklusi dan eksklusi, dilakukan critical appraisal, kemudian didapatkan 10 literatur yang terdiri dari enam literatur dengan jenis studi randomized controlled trial dan empat literatur dengan jenis studi nonrandomized controlled trial/quasi experimental. Hasil penelitian mendapatkan bahwa umumnya hasil studi menunjukkan skor indeks kebersihan mulut lebih rendah sesudah intervensi dibandingkan dengan sebelum intervensi edukasi kesehatan gigi menggunakan metode kombinasi (braille, audio, dan taktil). Selain itu, secara bermakna intervensi menurunkan skor indeks plak dan meningkatkan jumlah anak tunanetra yang memiliki kategori kebersihan mulut yang baik. Simpulan penelitian ini ialah edukasi kesehatan gigi untuk anak tunanetra dengan metode kombinasi efektif meningkatkan kebersihan mulut.Kata kunci: edukasi kesehatan gigi; metode kombinasi; kebersihan mulut; anak tunanetra

Science education for blind and visually impaired children

Nowadays, science education is based predominantly on the principle of constructivism, according to which children should be active participants in the learning process and construct their knowledge based on experience. For blind or visually impaired children, science education methods and educational tools must be adapted according to their perceptual needs, in order for these children to be active participants in the learning process. The aim of the current paper is to describe the latest view on active and inquiry-based learning in science education for blind or visually impaired children while simultaneously minimizing misconceptions. Further, the paper compiles the recent research that enables prosperous and high-quality adaptive educational approaches and tools. Thus, the content of this paper will be useful for both science teachers and researchers of inclusive classrooms.