Frequency of parafunctional oral habits and their relationship with age group.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the frequency of parafunctional oral habits and their relationship with the age group: toddlers or preschoolers.  

Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in a sample of 269 infant children and preschoolers with the express authorization of their parents. The survey consisted of the oral examination and questionnaire application (Cronbach's alpha=0.832) after intra-calibration of a Dental Surgeon (Kappa≥0.941). The value of Cronbach's alpha was calculated to measure the reliability of the questionnaire and Pearson's Chi-square for the associations. 

Results: The habit of biting objects was the most frequent (31.2%), onychophagia and mouth breathing showed statistically significant differences concerning the group of preschoolers (p=0.004; p=0.023), while bottle-feeding was for the Infant-children group (p=0.0001).  

Conclusions: The frequency of the parafuntional habits had similar behavior in both toddlers and preschoolers. The differences observed were related to the type of habit most frequent in each age group.