title: Oral health status of the visually impaired children--a south Indian study.
abstract: Oral health is an important aspect of health for all children, and is all the more important for children with special health needs. The oral health of children who are visually impaired can be disadvantaged, since they are often unable to adequately apply the techniques necessary to control plaque.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the oral health status of visually impaired children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A modified WHO oral health assessment form was used to assess oral conditions, oral hygiene status, caries experience and gingival status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The children exhibited suboptimal levels of oral health with majority of the children showing a high caries prevalence as well as moderate to severe gingivitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Children Dentistry, A. B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Vabitha
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.forename: Amitha M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hegde
authors.forename: Srikala
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhandary
authors.forename: Kavita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rai
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000145:classification; D003818:Dentition, Mixed; D003970:Diastema; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000145:classification; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000145:classification; D009909:Oral Health; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D010512:Periodontal Index; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000145:classification*; D014082:Tooth Fractures / Q000145:classification; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities