TY  - JOUR
T1  - Impact of an Innovative Teledentistry Mobile App on Oral Health Literacy among Visually Impaired and Deaf Adolescents: A 4-Week Randomized Controlled Trial
A1  - Andrea F. Conti
A1  - Lucas P. Meyer
A1  - Tesfaye M. Bekele
JF  - Journal of Current Research in Oral Surgery
JO  - J Curr Res Oral Surg
SN  - 3062-3480
Y1  - 2022
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
DO  - 10.51847/1szwYLKOkM
SP  - 41
EP  - 51
N2  - This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile-based “teledentistry” approach, delivered through the Telesmile application, in improving awareness of oral health issues and hygiene behaviors among blind and deaf individuals residing in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia. A controlled randomized parallel-group design was applied to 50 blind and 50 deaf students aged 12–18 years, selected at random from specialized schools according to predefined criteria. A novel teledentistry tool, Telesmile, compatible with both the Apple iOS App Store and Google Play Store, was created for this purpose. For the deaf category, customized Arabic sign language oral hygiene videos were produced and uploaded; for the blind category, experts recorded audio-based instructions, which were then incorporated into the app. Blind (n = 25) and deaf (n = 25) participants in Group I were provided standard oral hygiene guidance, whereas Group II (blind n = 25; deaf n = 25) received the Telesmile intervention. Knowledge related to oral health and hygiene was assessed using a 14-item closed-answer questionnaire at baseline (T0). All participants attended training sessions, and Group II received access to the Telesmile application. Four weeks later (T1), the same questionnaire was administered again to compare changes in knowledge across groups. Analysis using the chi-square test showed that baseline (T0) knowledge scores for both blind and deaf students were extremely low, but demonstrated a marked and statistically significant increase after 4 weeks of exposure to the Telesmile tool (p 
UR  - https://tsdp.net/article/impact-of-an-innovative-teledentistry-mobile-app-on-oral-health-literacy-among-visually-impaired-and-ksaecfox00yvwma
ER  -