Analisi statistica delle abitudini alla suzione di tipo non nutritivo in un campione in età pediatrica

Objective: Aim of this case-control study was to evaluate the prevalence of malocclusion related to non-nutritive sucking habits (pacifier or finger) in a sample of children at the Unit of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Oral and Maxillo-facial Sciences of the “Sapienza”, University of Rome. Materials and methods: Two samples of children were selected from January 2009 to December 2010, all aged between 5 and 9 years in deciduous or early mixed dentition. The first sample (study group) consisted of 125 subjects that presented one or more malocclusions; the second sample (control group) consisted of 150 children that did not show any form of malocclusion. Increased overjet, anterior openbite, and posterior crossbite were recorded. Information about non-nutritive sucking habits in the two samples were obtained from a questionnaire directed to the parents. Results: Collected data were analysed for correlations between the presence and type (pacifier or finger) of non-nutritive sucking habits and the development of malocclusions. Preliminary results from our analysis showed that children with non-nutritive sucking habits present a risk of developing malocclusions 2.5 times higher than children who did not suck the pacifier or the finger. Also, the use of pacifier was statistically correlated with all types of malocclusions, while finger sucking was only correlated with the development of overjet. Conclusions: Our study confirms that non-nutritive sucking habits give a significant contribution to the development of malocclusions, as reported in previous studies.