The relationship between oral habits and malocclusion in preschool children

• Autor(a) principal: Tomita, Nilce E
• Data de Publicação: 2000
• Outros Autores: Bijella, Vitoriano T, Franco, Laércio J
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Saúde Pública
• DOI: 10.1590/S0034-89102000000300014
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rsp/article/view/25021
• topic: Maloclusão^i1^sepidemiolo; Saúde bucal; Fatores socioeconômicos; Estudos transversais; Malocclusion^i2^sepidemiol; Oral health; Socioeconomic factors; Cross-sectional studies; Preschool children

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the way oral habits and speech problems affect dental occlusion in preschool children. METHODS: A random sample of 2,139 boys and girls aged 3-5 years old was evaluated. The children were enrolled in private and state institutions in the city of Bauru, São Paulo State, Brazil. The cross-sectional study was developed in two steps: occlusion assessment, and a questionnaire about their social and economic status. The occlusal anatomical-functional characteristics assessment was done according to Angle classification. Additionally, overjet, overbite, crowding, anterior open bite, posterior crossbite, and anterior crossbite were evaluated. A sub-sample of 618 children filled out the questionnaire. The prevalence of malocclusion and some variables of exposure were tested by bivariate analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of malocclusion was 51.3% for boys and 56.9% for girls. There was no difference related to gender. In regard to age, there was a higher prevalence of malocclusion in the 3 year-old group, which decreased significantly with age (p