Dental caries experience and oral hygiene status among hearing and speech impaired children of Karad city, Maharashtra, India

Introduction: Disability has often been described as a physiological deficit. Children with hearing impairment constitute one of the major population groups of physically challenged children. In India, the people are suffering from one or the other kind of disability which is equivalent to 2.1% of the country's population. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to assess the caries experience and oral hygiene status among the hearing and speech impaired children's. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 100 participants aged 5–18 years attending a school for the sensory impaired children of Karad city, India. The participants were examined using Type III clinical examination. Oral hygiene status by oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-S), Plaque index status and decayed, missing, and filled teeth/surface (DMFT/S) index were assessed. ANOVA, Chi-square test were used and P