title: The prevalence of malocclusion and oral habits among 5-7-year-old children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Digit sucking, tongue thrust swallowing, and mouth breathing are potential risk factors for development of malocclusion. The purpose of this study was to verify the prevalence of different occlusal traits among 5-7-year-old children and assess their relationship with oral habits.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 503 pre-school children (260 boys and 243 girls) with a mean age of 5.95 years. Different occlusal traits were verified by intraoral examination. Oral habits were diagnosed using data gathered from clinical examination of occlusion and extra-oral assessment of the face, combined with a questionnaire for parents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study demonstrated that 71.4% of the children presented with 1 or more attributes of malocclusion and 16.9% had oral habits. The vertical and sagittal malrelation of incisors, as well as spacing, were the predominant features. This study showed that digit suckers have higher incidence of anterior open bite (P=0.013) and posterior crossbite (P=0.005). The infantile type of swallowing demonstrated strong association (P=0.001) with anterior open bite.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Non-nutritive sucking habits and tongue thrust swallowing are significant risk factors for the development of anterior open bite and posterior crossbite in pre-school children.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Orthodontics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kasparaviciene
authors.affiliation: Clinic or Orthodontics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Antanas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sidlauskas
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Orthodontics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Egle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zasciurinskiene
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Orthodontics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Arunas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vasiliauskas
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Maxillofacial Surgery, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Gintaras
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Juodzbalys
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Orthodontics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Mantas
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sidlauskas
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Orthodontics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Ugne
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Marmaite
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D015995:Prevalence