Assessment of Dental Anxiety in Visually Impaired Children Using Two Methods of Oral Health Education in Nizamabad District: A Randomized Control Trial.

Abstract

Background: Oral health is greatly impacted by visual impairment, which raises the possibility of dental treatment anxiety. Therefore, the goal of this research is to assess dental anxiety in children who are blind.

Aim and objectives of the study: The intention of the study was to raise awareness of oral health among visually impaired children and to use the RMS-tactile scale (TS) to measure their anxiety levels.

Materials and methods: In the current study, 50 students with impairment of vision were split into two groups for a randomized control trial. There were 25 children in each group. Group 1 received dental health instruction using Braille, while Group 2 received it via audio tactile performance (ATP) approach. Pre- and post-treatment anxiety levels were recorded using RMS-TS for both groups, and scores for the plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) were also computed from baseline and three-month evaluations were conducted.

Results: We performed a statistical study using a paired t-test and a one-way ANOVA. In the evaluation of pre-anxiety level on RMS-TS, group 2 (ATP) had high significance, and the values for the GI (P < 0.032) and PI (P < 0.020) decreased statistically.

Conclusion: According to the present study, using a combination of audio and tactile models to explain dental procedures to visually impaired children can effectively reduce their anxiety.