{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]],"date-time":"2026-07-03T10:22:34Z","timestamp":1783074154846,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,5]],"date-time":"2022-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1670198400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study aimed to evaluate the impact of oral health education (OHE), incorporating a novel pre-validated visual performance reinforcement (VPR) technique and sign language, on gingival health, plaque control, and oral hygiene knowledge and practices in 12 to 15-year-old hearing- and speech-impaired adolescents. A double-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted in a government school for deaf children in Belagavi, Karnataka, India. A total of 80 adolescents, aged 12\u201315 years, were randomly assigned, using a computer-generated table of random numbers, into two groups: Group A receiving the VPR technique (n = 40), and Group B receiving sign language (n = 40). A specially designed pre-validated closed-ended questionnaire was administered to both groups, followed by clinical examination to obtain the gingival and plaque index, before intervention and at a 16-week follow-up period. Group A showed a significant increase in the knowledge gained when compared to Group B. Similarly, a significant improvement in oral hygiene practices was also observed in Group A. However, at the 16-week follow-up, there were no statistically significant differences in gingival and plaque scores between the groups. OHE using the VPR technique can be as effective and satisfactory as sign language in the reduction of gingival and plaque scores and in the improvement of knowledge and its application in oral hygiene maintenance among hearing- and speech-impaired adolescents.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children9121905","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,5]],"date-time":"2022-12-05T04:10:02Z","timestamp":1670213402000},"page":"1905","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Impact of the Visual Performance Reinforcement Technique on Oral Hygiene Knowledge and Practices, Gingival Health, and Plaque Control in Hearing- and Speech-Impaired Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7866-6038","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ram","family":"Kumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KLE University), Belagavi 590010, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Apurva","family":"Deshpande","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KLE University), Belagavi 590010, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anil","family":"Ankola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KLE University), Belagavi 590010, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roopali","family":"Sankeshwari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KLE University), Belagavi 590010, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vinuta","family":"Hampiholi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Periodontics, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KLE University), Belagavi 590010, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4478-4874","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mamata","family":"Hebbal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sagar","family":"Jalihal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KLE University), Belagavi 590010, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8342-0323","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Atrey","family":"Pai Khot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KLE University), Belagavi 590010, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Deepika","family":"Valakkunja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research (KLE University), Belagavi 590010, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5764-8308","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sree","family":"Kotha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"39","article-title":"Hearing in India: All aspects","volume":"5","author":"Singh","year":"2015","journal-title":"Online J. Otolaryngol."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2022). Deafness and Hearing Loss, World Health Organization. Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/deafness-and-hearing-loss."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2017). Global Costs of Unaddressed Hearing Loss and Cost-Effectiveness of Interventions: A WHO Report 2017, World Health Organization. Available online: https:\/\/apps.who.int\/iris\/handle\/10665\/254659."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Government of India, and Social Statistics Division, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (2022, September 04). 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