Prevalence of anterior open bite and its association with non-nutritive sucking habits in preschoolers

Objective: Investigated the association between anterior open bite and non-nutritive sucking habits in preschoolers of Patos, Paraiba, Brazil. Methods: This observational, quantitative, cross-sectional study included 140 preschoolers aged 4 to 5 years, of both genders, with complete set of primary teeth, attending public daycare facilities of the city of Patos, Paraiba. The study was done in two stages. In the first stage, the parents signed a free and informed consent form and answered a questionnaire on the non-nutritive sucking habits and feeding practices of the child. In the second stage, the oral cavity was examined to determine if the child had an anterior open bite. The data were processed by the software SPSS version 13.0 using descriptive and inferential (chi-square test) statistics. Results: The prevalence of anterior open bite in the studied population was 27.9%. Its occurrence was associated with breastfeeding duration (p . 2 Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Odontologia. Bauru, SP, Brasil. 3 Universidade de Pernambuco, Faculdade de Odontologia, Departamento de Odontopediatria. Camaragibe, PE, Brasil. 4 Universidade Federal da Paraiba, Curso de Odontologia, Departamento de Odontologia e Clinica Social. Joao Pessoa, PB, Brasil. INTRODUCAO Conhecer precocemente aspectos como: praticas de aleitamento e habitos bucais deleterios sao de grande importância para os profissionais da Odontologia que trabalham com criancas, uma vez que, intervencoes previas contribuem para uma melhor qualidade de vida, atraves do estabelecimento de condicoes adequadas de alimentacao, respiracao e fala, favorecendo a harmonia e o equilibrio entre esqueleto, tecidos moles, morfologia e volume dentario, os quais tem interferencia direta sobre a oclusao1.