title: Oral hygiene status in relation to sociodemographic factors of children and adults who are hearing impaired, attending a special school.
abstract: This study examined the oral hygiene levels and periodontal status in a group of children and adults with hearing impairment attending a special school in Udaipur, India. Oral hygiene status was assessed by the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) of Greene and Vermillion and periodontal status by the Community Periodontal Index. An analysis using a bivariate analysis revealed that all the oral hygiene variables varied significantly with age, economic status, and education of the parents. A multiple regression analysis showed that the education of the mother was the single best predictor for oral hygiene status and explained 92% of the variance. These findings show that children with hearing impairment have poor oral hygiene and high levels of periodontal disease. This may be due to a lack of communication; hence, appropriate oral health education should be tailored to the needs of these students with the support of their teachers and their parents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventitive and Community Dentistry, Darshan Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. santosh_dentist@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Santhosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Rushabh Jayesh
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Dagli
authors.forename: Anmol
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mathur
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Prabu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Duraiswamy
authors.forename: Suhas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000145:classification; D003741:Dental Deposits / Q000145:classification; D004522:Educational Status; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000145:classification; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000145:classification; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012574:Schools; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult