Assessment of orofacial functions in Brazilian children using the Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S) Avaliação das funções orais em crianças brasileiras por meio do Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S)

Purpose: Orofacial function is the result of complex activities of the central nervous and neuromuscular systems. Orofacial dysfunction can compromise vital actions, such as breathing, chewing and swallowing, and facial expressions. The aim of this study was to apply the Brazilian version of the Nordic Orofacial Test–Screening (NOT-S), which assesses orofacial dysfunction, to a sample of Brazilian children and adolescents. Methods: The Brazilian version of NOT-S was applied in 197 girls and 135 boys, aged from 8 to 14 years old. They were clinically examined for the phase of dentition and characteristics of occlusion. For assessing NOT-S reliability, a test-retest was performed in 50 subjects randomly selected from the total sample15 days after the first application. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-squared, Mann-Whitney and Kappa tests were applied for data analysis at significant level of α=0.05. Results: The scores ranged from 0 to 7; score 0 had a rate of 5%; the mean score was 2.64. The most frequent domains were III (Habits) and IV (Chewing and Swallowing) with a rate of 70 and 50%, respectively. No difference between genders was seen in relation to orofacial dysfunction, but subjects in mixed dentition and those with frontal open bite presented more orofacial dysfunction. The rate of intra-examiner agreement was 97.8% comparing the first and retest applications. Conclusion: No differences between genders were detected, but subjects in mixed dentition and in those with anterior malocclusion the orofacial dysfunction was more present. The Brazilian