Aims: this study was carried out to assess oral health status and treatment needs among a group of hearing impaired and visually impaired children in Mansoura city, Egypt.
Methodology: A cross sectional study design was conducted. Total of 130 hearing impaired and 120 of visually impaired children were included in addition to 130 of normal children. The diagnosis of dental caries was done according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria using dft and DMFT indices. Oral hygiene was assessed using Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S). Gingivitis was evaluated by Papillary, Marginal and Attached (PMA) Index. Also, treatment need was specified using Unmet Treatment Need (UTN) index.
Results: It was found that the caries prevalence and experience was significantly higher among visually impaired children (73.3%, 5.33±4.32) and hearing impaired children (61.5%, 4.73 ± 4.38) than normal children (46.2%,1.07±1.80) (p value ≤0.05). In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in median scores of PMA index, median scores of OHIS index and percentage of unmet treatment needs among the study groups (p value ≤ 0.05).
Conclusion: the caries prevalence and severity was higher among visually impaired and hearing impaired children than normal children. They also suffered from more gingivitis, poor oral hygiene and higher percentage of unmet treatment needs compared to normal children.