Resumo

SOUZA FILHO, Manoel Dias de; NOGUEIRA, Samara Dantas Marreiros  e  MARTINS, Maria do Carmo de Carvalho e. Assessment of oral health of the visually impaired in Teresina-PI. Arq. Odontol. [online]. 2010, vol.46, n.2, pp. 66-74. ISSN 1516-0939.

Vision is considered the greatest promoter of human interaction in motor, perceptual, and mental skills, and this loss can cause changes in the social environment. The aim of this study was to assess the oral health of visually impaired people by analyzing the prevalence of caries and periodontal disease, as well as their self-awareness and accessibility to dental services. The population studied consisted of 42 blind men and women, from 18 to 63 years of age, enrolled at the Association for the Blind in Piaui (ACEP) in Teresina, PI Brazil. Data were processed in BioEstat 5.0 and EpiInfo 6.04b softwares. The significance level was set at 5%. The values were analyzed by ANOVA, followed by Tukey's post-test. The DMFT mean was 11.5, and 58% of sextants presented periodontal disease. Questions regarding the self-awareness of oral health were conducted, and 83.2% of the respondents rated their oral health as excellent, good, or regular. Moreover, 5.2% of these visually impaired people had been to a dental surgeon, but only 30.9% had received instructions concerning oral health within the last twelve months. This population showed a positive self-awareness of oral health as well as an adequate access to dental services. Nevertheless, their clinical situation was found to be poor, with a high DMFT index and a number of altered and excluded sextants, due to the large number of missing teeth.

Palavras-chave : Visually impaired persons; Dental caries; Oral health.