title: Association between Chewing Side Preference and Dental Caries among Deciduous, Mixed and Permanent Dentition.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chewing Side Preference (CSP) is said to occur when mastication is recognized exclusively/consistently or predominantly on the same side of the jaw. It can be assessed by using the direct method - visual observation and indirect methods by electric programs, such as cinematography, kinetography and computerized electromyography.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence of CSP in deciduous, mixed and permanent dentitions and relating its association with dental caries.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional observational study, 240 school going children aged 3 to 18years were randomly allocated to three experimental groups according to the deciduous dentition, mixed dentition and permanent dentition period. The existence of a CSP was determined using a direct method by asking the children to chew on a piece of gum (trident sugarless). The Mann Whitney U-test was used to compare the CSP and also among the boys and girls. The Spearman's Correlation Coefficient was used to correlate CSP and dental caries among the three study groups and also among the groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CSP was observed in 69%, 83% and 76% of children with primary, mixed and permanent dentition respectively (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant association between the presence of CSP and dental caries among the three study groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a weak or no correlation between gender and distribution of CSP and between presence of CSP and dental caries.
authors: Professor and Head of Department, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, NIMS Dental College and Hospital , Jaipur, Rajasthan, India .
authors: Ullal Anand
authors: UA
authors: Nayak
authors: Postgraduate Student, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, NIMS Dental College and Hospital , Jaipur, Rajasthan, India .
authors: Reena
authors: R
authors: Sharma
authors: Professor, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, NIMS Dental College and Hospital , Jaipur, Rajasthan, India .
authors: Nilotpol
authors: N
authors: Kashyap
authors: Senior Lecturer, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, NIMS Dental College and Hospital , Jaipur, Rajasthan, India .
authors: Deepesh
authors: D
authors: Prajapati
authors: Reader, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, NIMS Dental College and Hospital , Jaipur, Rajasthan, India .
authors: Damodar
authors: D
authors: Kappadi
authors: Postgraduate Student, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, NIMS Dental College and Hospital , Jaipur, Rajasthan, India .
authors: Saakshe
authors: S
authors: Wadhwa
authors: Postgraduate Student, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, NIMS Dental College and Hospital , Jaipur, Rajasthan, India .
authors: Shina
authors: S
authors: Gandotra
authors: Postgraduate Student, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, NIMS Dental College and Hospital , Jaipur, Rajasthan, India .
authors: Poonam
authors: P
authors: Yadav
keywords: Chewing pattern; Mastication; Preventive orthodontics; Unilateral chewing