Effectiveness of Oral Health Education Methods on Oral Hygiene in Children and Adolescents with Visual Impairment: A Systematic Review.

Background Conventional methods of oral health education (OHE) are not suitable for children with visual impairment, as these methods usually involve visual demonstration with models or plaque-disclosing dyes. Aim To systematically review the literature to support the best approach for providing OHE to children and adolescents with visual impairment. Design A systematic search of five electronic databases and grey literature was conducted. Randomised controlled trials that compared different OHE in children and adolescents with visual impairment were included. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (RoB 2) was used for the risk of bias assessment. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) framework was used to determine the certainty of evidence. Results Nine randomised controlled trials with a total of 804 participants were included in this review. Seven OHE methods were compared. Seven studies were assessed to be high risk of bias, one with some concerns, and one low risk. The overall certainty of evidence was very low according to GRADE. Conclusion There was insufficient evidence to recommend a particular method of OHE as more effective in improving the oral hygiene of children with visual impairment, but combination methods may show similar or better results.