Prevalence of Oral Habits and its Effect in Primary Dentition among Sudanese Preschool Children in Khartoum City

Aim: To determine the prevalence of oral habits and its association with certain parameters (age, gender, child rank in the family, mother education and feeding type and duration) and the effect of oral habits on the occlusion of primary dentition. Methods: A cross-sectional study through questionnaire and clinical examination for 489 preschool Sudanese children 3-5 years old, from randomly selected kindergartens in Khartoum. Results: Prevalence of oral habits was found to be 30.3%. Thumb sucking was the most prevalent one. No significant associations were found between oral habits, age and gender. A significant association were found between oral habits and rank of the child in the family as well with mother education level and breast feeding (P<0.05). A higher prevalence of open bite, increased overjet, distal molar relation, Class II canine relation, and posterior cross bite were found among children with existing oral habits. Conclusion: Sudanese preschoolers had high prevalence of oral habits and persistent of oral habits after the age of three years has site effect on the primary occlusion, so early recognition of oral habits and proper education program for parents and children are recommended to prevent and intercept the occurrence of malocclusion in the permanent dentition. Keyword: Oral Habits; Thumb Sucking; Nail Biting; Breast Feeding. Author’s Affilation: *Lecturer , Pedodontics Department, Faculty of Dentistry, The National University, Khartoum, Sudan. **Associate Professor,Faculty of Dentistry, Khartoum University, Khartoum, Sudan Reprints Requests: Amal H. Abuaffan, Associate Professor, Head department of Orthodontic, Pedodontics and Preventive dentistry, Faculty of dentistry, Khartoum University, Khartoum, Sudan. P.O. Box 1719 Khartoum. E-mail:amalabuaffan@yahoo.com. Introduction Oral habits are learned pattern of muscle contraction and have a complex nature. It is classified as physiological such as nasal breathing, chewing, phonoarticulation and swallowing, and nonphysiological habits which are often called harmful or parafunctional such as thumb or lip sucking, mouth breathing and tongue thrust [1, 2]. An oral habit in infancy and early childhood is normal and it is considered abnormal over 3 years old. The persist of the oral habits have little effect on child health but can affect the facial growth [3]. Indian Journal of Dental Education Volume 8 Number 2, April June 2015 Oral habits play significant role in altering the position of the teeth, the inter-arch relationship, interfering with the normal growth of the jaws and the function of the orofacial musculature [3, 4]. Oral habits are one of the major etiologic factors of malocclusion and disturbance of the dentofacial structures. [5] A strong correlation exist between oral habits and development of malocclusion in the primary dentition; 40% of causes of malocclusion were related to oral habits such as anterior open bite, increased overjet, decreased maxillary arch width, posterior cross bite, and Class II canine and molar relation-ships [6, 7]. Early recognition of the present of oral habits and proper planning to stop them is so important to avoid harmful effect on the developing occlusion. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) states a policy to encourage the treatment of oral habits so as to prevent and intercept the occurrence of malocclusions and skeletal dysplasia [8]. Wide range of oral habits prevalence has been reported among children in different countries [9-11] and it is believed to be influenced by varies factors such as gender, rank of the child in the family, feeding methods, socioeconomic status, maternal age,