EVALUATION OF IMPROVEMENT OBSERVED IN ORAL HYGIENE STATUS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER USING VIDEO MODELLING .

Childrendiagnosed with Autism or related developmental disorders exhibits varyingdegree of cognitive impairment, lack of verbal and non-verbal communicationskills and limited skills for social interaction. Their fixity to repetitivepatterns of behaviours /interests/activities, and unpredictable response havebeen documented in literature as a virtue of cognitive delay.

Previousstudies have reported the inadequacy of dental care in children with SCHNincluding children with ASD. The challenge faced by parents in providing properhome hygiene care and visit to dentist becomes a great task due to the sensorysensitivities in such children. This Complex and complicated behaviour lands achild into multiple dental ailment for which a comprehensive treatment plan isrequired. To overcome such challenges, clinicians suggests introduction of homedental care early in life which includes correct toothbrushing.

Asa part of their teaching strategies, visual pedagogy has been used since years.Various types of pedagogical techniques have been found to be effective inteaching daily life skills. Incorporation of such techniques in teaching dentalskills and establishing independency in that task can prove to be beneficialfor the children in the long run. However, evidence suggests that  efficacy of these communication aids toimprove oral hygiene is still insufficient.

Thus,Electronically delivered Video modelled Toothbrushing intervention was designedand planned to support and teach children with ASD proper at-home oral hygienecare. The effectiveness and efficacy of the devised intervention was comparedfrom baseline at 3rd and 6th months. Reversibleparameters such as plaque score, toothbrushing ability , salivary cytokinelevels ( IL-6) and parental perception for the improvement was assessed.

Afterusing the toothbrushing visual modelled intervention for 6 months, theplaque score , toothbrushing ability and cytokine levels had significantlyimproved.  Intragroup Comparison withinthe severity subgroup also showed statistically significant improvement at 3rdand 6th month of the study . Parental perception reported improvedbrushing compliance and behaviour towards oral hygiene. Many children startedbrushing twice daily which was a tedious task to accomplish before the program.The results highlight the use of video modelling for rapid acquisition of the skills,which can in turn reduces the overall dependency of the child towardstoothbrushing.

Suchvideo-modelled toothbrushing intervention may serve as an easily comprehendible, evidence based education tool in establishing independency in varioustasks.  This promising approach should beencouraged for further development and utilization of similar interventiontools among clinicians and other dental personnel in promoting oral healthawareness in special care dentistry.