Effects of different pacifiers on the primary dentition and oral myofunctional strutures of preschool children.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of the dental arches and some oral myofunctional structures in 36- to 60-month-old children who sucked a pacifier or did not have this habit.


METHODS
Sixty-one children were divided into 3 groups: (1) those who never sucked a pacifier, (2) those who exclusively sucked a physiological pacifier, and (3) those who exclusively sucked a conventional one. A clinical examination was performed on the children to observe the relationship between the arches and their width, as well as the following oral myofunctional structures: lips, tongue, cheeks, and hard palate.


RESULTS
Statistical analysis showed that: (1) the use of both ytpes of pacifiers led to anterior open bite (prevalence of 50% in both groups; P = . 001), (2) posterior crossbite was present only on children who had a pacifier-sucking habit, (3) the mean oveqrjt was greater on children who sucked physiological (3.6 mm) or conventional (3.7 mm) pacifiers when compared to those with no sucking habits (1.3 mm; P = .001), (4) intercanine distance of the upper arch was significantly smalelr on children who sucked pacifiers (29.6 mm in the physiological group and 29.2 mm in the conventional pacifier group) than those who did not (31.2 mm), and (5) the children who never sucked on a pacifier showed a higher prevalence of normality of cheek mobility (74%; P = .022) and hard palate shape (78%; P = .042).


CONCLUSIONS
Children who sucked pacifiers, both conventional and physiological ones, showed higher prevalence of alterations in the relationship of the dental arches and orla myofunctional structures, when compared to those who never sucked a pacifier.
Zardetto
Cristina Giovannetti del Conte
CG
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. criszardetto@uol.com.br
Rodrigues
Célia Regina Martins Delgado
CR
Stefani
Fabiane Miron
FM
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002508:Cephalometry; D002610:Cheek / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003481:Cuspid / Q000473:pathology; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000473:pathology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000145:classification; D008437:Maxilla / Q000473:pathology; D009129:Muscle Tonus / Q000502:physiology; D024343:Open Bite / Q000145:classification; D041361:Pacifiers; D021362:Palate, Hard / Q000473:pathology; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014059:Tongue / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000473:pathology*