The opportunities in implementing assistive technology in oral health care for individuals with sensory impairments: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: People with sensory impairments (SI) face unique challenges in out-of-home care, especially in oral health (OH) care, compared to the general population. Various assistive technologies (ATs) and media are used to influence OH behaviors and outcomes for individuals with SI. This systematic review (SR) aimed to identify the types of ATs and assess their effectiveness for individuals with SI.

METHODS

A comprehensive search strategy was applied across Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, and Scopus databases, using expert-validated keywords, with manual searches for relevant articles published from June 2013 to June 2023. The SR followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Eligible studies focused on the use of ATs as OH education tools for individuals with SI and assessed their impact on OH behavior and status.

RESULTS

Eighteen of the 1298 identified studies were included in the data synthesis. ATs, such as images, software, multimedia, audio, video, audio-tactile performance, and combination methods, were effective for OH care in individuals with SI. However, this SR limitations include study heterogeneity in sample sizes, intervention types, and outcomes, as well as the exclusion of non-English studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral health education using a combination of video training and audio-tactile performance is particularly effective for individuals with SI, engaging multiple senses for learning. Future research should focus on standardizing methodologies and incorporating larger sample sizes to enhance the efficacy of these technologies in improving OH care for individuals with SI. PROSPERO REG. NO.: CRD42023485523.