Effectiveness of an oral hygiene education program combined with fluoride mouthrinse among visually impaired students in Bangkok, Thailand

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of oral hygiene education kits (OHE kits) and 0.05% sodium fluoride mouth rinse among visually impaired students (VIS) in Bangkok, Thailand. Seventy-five VIS aged 10-12 years were included in the study and examined for plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and mutans streptococci (MS) salivary levels at baseline and after intervention. The subjects were then randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 received OHE kits and 0.05% NaF mouth rinse and brushing instructions. Group 2 received only the OHE kits and brushing instructions. Group 3 (control) received only brushing instructions. PI, GI and MS levels, were reassessed 3 months after intervention. Pre- and post-intervention evaluation data were compared with the Wilcoxon match-pairs test (p<0.05). The post-intervention results were significantly better in all 3 groups compared to the pre-intervention result (p<0.01). Group 1 had the lowest PI and the PI was significantly lower than the other groups (p<0.05). The GI was significantly lower in Group 1 than Group 3, Group 2 than Group 3 (p<0.05). MS level was reduced significantly in group 1 and 2 compared to control (p< 0.001, p=0.038, respectively). All groups showed the reduction of PI, GI, and MS levels. However, students who either received OHE kits with or without sodium fluoride mouthrinse showed significantly lower gingival index and lower number of MS than control group.