title: Evaluation of a preventive educational program for malocclusions: 7-year study.
abstract: RESULTS
  506 of the 802 guardians/children referred to the PPM joined. As for the children, the most frequently assessed habits were: bottle (56.1%), bottle and pacifier (18.4%), finger (11.9%), bottle and finger (7.1%), pacifier (5.7%), pacifier and finger (0.6%), and bottle/pacifier/finger (0.2%). After parent participation in the meetings, 335 (66.2%) children abandoned their habits. There was a statistical difference between type of oral habit and time to abandonment (p = 0.0001). However, those with only one habit abandoned it more easily (72.6%) than those with two or more associated habits (48.1%) (p = 0.042). Presence or absence of breastfeeding and parents' level of education had no significant effect on habit abandonment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PPM was an important tool for spreading knowledge to guardians, greatly contributing to the abandonment of deleterious oral habits. Bottle sucking warrants special attention - mentioned by 81.8% of parents - either alone or associated with other habits. Thus, educational actions to implement the children's approach to oral health are fundamental to making behavioral changes and promoting education of healthy habits, thereby keeping malocclusions from developing.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Department Oral Medicine and Children's Dentistry, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz Brandão
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Scarpelli
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Norte do Paraná, Department of Restorative Dentistry, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sandrine Bittencourt
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Department Oral Medicine and Children's Dentistry, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marília Franco
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Punhagui
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Norte do Paraná, Department of Orthodontics, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cássio Alexandre Zeri de
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Department Oral Medicine and Children's Dentistry, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferelle
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Norte do Paraná, Department of Orthodontics, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula Vanessa Pedron
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Oltramari-Navarro
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000379:methods*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D006267:Health Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007872:Legal Guardians; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D041361:Pacifiers / Q000009:adverse effects; D010290:Parents; D015397:Program Evaluation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013391:Sucking Behavior; D013997:Time Factors