title: Association between breast-feeding duration and posterior crossbites.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between breast-feeding duration and the subsequent occurrence of posterior crossbite in Brazilian children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 714 six- to nine-year-old children. A questionnaire was completed by mothers or guardians of the children concerning the length of time they were exclusively breast-fed and the breast-feeding duration. A clinical examination of each child was conducted to detect posterior crossbite. Data were analyzed using Pearson's chi-square test at a five percent significance level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a posterior crossbite prevalence of approximately 15 percent. There was no statistically significant association between posterior crossbite and age or gender ( P >.05). The prevalence of posterior crossbite was higher among children who were not breast-fed (28 percent) than among breast-fed children (13 percent). There was a significant association between posterior crossbite and the length of time that children were exclusively breast-fed and the breast-feeding duration ( P <.05 percent).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of posterior crossbite gradually decreased as exclusive breast-feeding duration increased, and there was a relationship between breast-feeding duration and the occurrence of posterior crossbite.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetics and Oral and Facial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana Bezerra
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Limeira
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetics and Oral and Facial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. cmaguiar.ufpe@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Carlos Menezes
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Aguiar
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil; Institute of Integrative Medicine Professor Fernando Figueira, in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Niedje Siqueira
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: de Lima Bezerra
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetics and Oral and Facial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andréea Cruz
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Câmara
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors