Etiology of thumb sucking habit and its effect on developing malocclusion

The persistence of thumb sucking might also be harmful as it might be associated with the development of complications seen on the thumb as paronychia and nail deformities and in the mouth level as malocclusions. In this review, we have looked up studies in the literature to identify the effect of thumb sucking on the development of malocclusion. Thumb sucking in children usually occurs as a primitive reflex that appears in early childhood with no apparent causative factors. Children usually develop this thumb sucking habit because in this way they feel more comfortable and secure. The main cause behind the development of thumb sucking is the prolonged presence of the thumb in the mouth which creates pressure against the developing jaw and teeth. This may interfere with the process of tooth eruption leading to delayed or abrupt eruption events and malformations. The severity of malocclusion deformities is significantly associated with the chronicity and period of thumb-sucking habits. Other forms of occlusions secondary to thumb sucking include: anterior open bite, exaggerated overjet, posterior crossbite, retrognathic mandible, a diastema, temporomandibular joint disorders and the retroclined low anterior. Thumb sucking, however, is a self-limiting phenomenon and usually disappears as children grow older. However, when persistence is noticed, immediate management should be approached to avoid any potential complications.

Impact of two non-nutritive sucking patterns on the development of anterior open bite in children of two kindergartens in Baghdad city

Background: Non-nutritive sucking habit (NNSH) is the main environmental causative factor that disturbs normal orofacial development. In spite of the harmful effect of pacifier as a NNSH, mothers aware from the other types of NNSH like thumb sucking far more than pacifier use. Open bite is one of the most challenging malocclusions in orthodontics due to the high prevalence of relapse after treatment, so preventing the causative factor of its occurrence is essential at early age of child life. This study aims to assess the impact of two non-nutritive patterns on the development of anterior open bite in primary dentition and to compare which of these habits mostly affect open bite development. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 313 Iraqi children (135 boys, 178 girls), aged 3-5 years, enrolled at two public kindergartens in Baghdad city, the Capital of Iraq. A pre-tested questionnaire with clinical examination were used to obtain data regarding thumb sucking, pacifier and the presence of open bite. Excel sheets were used for data processing, and Chi square test was used in data analysis. Results: There was a significant association between NNSH and the development of open bite (p value = 0.01). No gender differences in open bite prevalence were observed. The prevalence of non-nutritive sucking habits and open bite was 63.11% and 52.9% respectively with no gender difference. There was no significant differences between the effect of pacifier and thumb sucking habits on the development of an anterior open bite. Conclusion: Both pacifier and thumb sucking at preschool age are significant causative factors that lead to development of open bite in primary dentition. Encouraging mothers to ban and discontinue pacifier and thumb sucking habits as early as possible in the child's life is a crucial factor to prevent open bite development. On the other hand if general health of the child indicates the use of pacifier, mothers should use an orthodontic pacifier and for short time

Medline diastema of orthodontic patients - Prevalence and Etiology in Erbil Population - A cross-sectional study

To investigate the prevalence and etiological factors that contribute in midline diastema in Erbil population among different age groups and genders. A sample of (ex: 1021orthodontic patients (537 males and 484 females) were randomly selected from Erbil population attending to orthodontic department of khanzad polyclinic teaching center (General directorate of hawler / Ministry of health/ Kurdistan region- Iraq) during 2018-2019 period. Aged (13-35 years) with mean age ± SD was 19.6 ± 4.8 years, with a median of 19 years. The examination included patient history taking, intraoral examination, photograph, intraoral periapical radiography of incisors area and panoramic radiographic. Diastema consider positive when the space between central incisors is 0.5mm and more, width was measured clinically used digital Vernier calipers at one millimeter above the incisors edge. In this study the prevalence of midline diastema was 23.2%. location was in the maxilla (97%), in mandible (1.3%) and in both was (1.7%). The prevalence of midline diastema differs significantly between the age groups (p < 0.001). The highest prevalence (55.8%) was among patients aged ≥ 30 years, and it was also high (37.7%) among those aged < 15 years. The prevalence among females (26.4%) was significantly higher than the prevalence (20.3%) among males (P= 0.020). The main causes of midline diastema in females was thumb sucking and missing lateral incisors (14.1% and 12.5% respectively) and in males was high labial frenum and super numerally teeth (39.4% and 30.3% respectively). The prevalence of diastema in Erbil City (Kurdistan regional- Iraq) area was 23.2%, the location mostly in maxilla (97%). The prevalence of diastema in females more than males.

Association between deleterious oral habits and its effect on dentition among 5-15 years children

Oral habits in children is considered to be one of the most common etiology for orthodontic malocclusion, the prolonged effect of these habits can result in alternation of orofacial structures. Habits are acquired by automatism, represented by an altered pattern of muscle contraction with complex characteristics. In very young children some habits are considered to be a normal process of development at least till 3yrs of age. Oral habits could be parafunctional or functional. It has been observed that there has been an ascending trend in the prevalence of oral habit in children. Thus the aim of this study is to determine the effects of oral habits on dentition. Completed case sheets were collected from a private dental college. Case sheets were taken from June 2019 to April 2020. Data was retrieved and evaluated by 2 reviewers. Once the data was collected, it was then tabulated based on the parameters which are habits, molar relation, malocclusion, age and gender. Correlations between the parameters are determined. The study showed that a total of 50 children ages from 5-15 years old had oral habits. Tongue thrusting was found to be the most common oral habit (44%) Class II Div I malocclusion was mostly seen in thumb sucking patients (31,6%). The 9 year old children were found to be the highest number of children with oral habits. In this study, we observed that children with habits may result in malocclusion if they persist with the habit.

Correlation between Age, Gender and Habits among Children - A Retrospective Study

Oral health influences the overall health of an individual. Hence, when oral health is affected the general well-being of the individual is unbalanced. Habits are repetitive actions done automatically. They represent an altered pattern of muscle contraction, done unconsciously and on a regular basis. Some habits are helpful, whereas other habits are deleterious over the long run. Habits can be either functional or non-functional. Functional habits include repeating normal functions unnecessarily like swallowing, chewing and nasal breathing. Whereas non-functional habits are unnecessary extra functions like thumb-sucking, nail-biting and lip sucking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between age, gender and habits. A retrospective study was conducted in the Saveetha Dental College, Chennai, India. Ethical clearance was obtained from the SRB committee, Saveetha Dental College, Chennai, India. The clinical portion of this retrospective study was conducted over nine months, i.e., between June 2019 to March 2020. Data were collected from a total of 86000 patients who visited the Saveetha dental college between Jun 2019 to March 2020. Out of this, the data of 400 patients who visited the institute were retrieved with the inclusion criteria of the study. The data obtained were tabulated in SPSS for Windows, version 20. Frequencies were analysed. Chi square test was done to evaluate the association between age, gender and habits. In the present study, there was 35.3% were males, and 64.7% were females. 15.6% were four years of age, 9% were five years of age, 11.3% were six years of age, 10.7% were seven years of age, 17.6% were eight years of age, 12.7% were nine years of age, 0.6% were ten years of age, 10.7% were 11 years of age. 16.8% have tongue thrusting, 36.1% have thumb sucking, 25.7% have nail-biting, 21.4% have mouth breathing. Within the limitations of this study, there was no significant association between habits and age [P=0.086] and gender [P=0.102].