Prevalencia de hábitos orales infantiles y su influencia en la dentición temporal

abstract objectives: to assess the prevalence of anomalous oral habits and the influence of nonnutritive (pacifier and digit) sucking habits on primary dentition in a sample of preschool-age children. materials and methods: design: cross-sectional, descriptive, observational epidemiological study; location: three schools of the basque country; participants: 225 children of ages ranging from two to six years with fully erupted primary teeth. main measurements: the data were obtained through a habit questionnaire given to the parents, and clinical examinations performed on the children during which occlusal abnormalities such as anterior open bites, increased overjets and posterior crossbites were recorded. results: the prevalence of deleterious oral habits in the studied sample of children was very high (90.7%). nonnutritive sucking habits (of pacifier, digits) were shown to be the most frequent among them (85.3%). we found a significant increase in the studied malocclusions when the sucking habit persisted. conclusions: nonnutritive sucking habits influence the development of teeth, and therefore we recommend that such habits be discontinued early (before two years of age) to prevent the development of dental malocclusions.