Oral habits and malocclusion in children resident in Ile-Ife Nigeria

• Published in: European archives of paediatric dentistry Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 257 - 265
• Main Authors: Kolawole, K. A., Folayan, M. O., Agbaje, H. O., Oyedele, T. A., Onyejaka, N. K., Oziegbe, E. O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Children & youth; Data collection; Dental occlusion; Dentistry; Habits; Households; Local government; Medicine; Oral hygiene; Original Scientific Article; Orthodontics; Questionnaires; Sample size; Tongue; Urban areas; Nigeria; Malocclusion; Oral habits; Digit sucking; Children; Digit sucking severity index; Orthodontic treatment need
• ISSN: 1818-6300; 1996-9805
• DOI: 10.1007/s40368-018-0391-3

Aim To determine the: prevalence of oral habits in children aged 1–12 years in Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun State Nigeria; association between oral habits and malocclusion in children aged 6–12 years; differences in orthodontic treatment needs of children with and without oral habits and the effect of digit sucking severity on occlusal profile. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that collected data through a household survey. Information collected included the age, gender, and oral habits of study participants. Intra-oral examination was conducted. The Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) was used to assess orthodontic treatment needs for 6–12-year-old participants. Independent sample t test was used to compare mean DAI scores of participants with and without oral habits. A digit sucking severity index was developed and digit sucking severity was determined. Results One hundred and thirty (13.1%) study participants had 142 oral habits. The most common oral habit was digit sucking. The most common malocclusion traits were spacing (29.9%), crowding (21.7%) and increased overjet (16.4%). DAI scores were significantly higher in participants with tongue thrusting ( p  < 0.001) and bruxism ( p  = 0.01) habits compared with participants without the habits. Among the 67 participants with oral habits, 54 (80.6%) had no need for treatment, 9 (13.4%) needed elective treatment and treatment was mandatory for 4 (6.0%) participants. Conclusions Digit sucking was the most frequently practiced oral habit in the study population. Tongue thrusting and bruxism were significantly associated with greater severity of malocclusion in children 6–12 years old when compared with peers who had no habits. Most children with oral habits had no need for treatment.