The relationship between breastfeeding duration, oral habits introduction and malocclusion occurrence

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence ofbreastfee- ding duration on oral habits intro- duction and onmalocclusion occur- rence. Children, aged 3 to 5 years, treated at the Research and Den- tal Treatment Center for Special Patients (Cepae - FOPlUnicamp) during the year of 2002, took part in this research. The children's clinical files were analyzed to ve- rify breastfeeding duration. The children were then examined by two dentists of Cepae that filled out clinical forms concerning the presence or absence of oral habits, the characteristics of dental arches and malocclusions. Results sho- wed that most ofthe children were weaned before the age of six mon- ths (39,4%) and weaning age was related to pacifier use (p < 0,05). In addition, it was found that the most frequent habit was bottle fee- ding (67,7%),however pacifier use was the only oral habit related to the occurrence of malocclusions (open bite and cross bite). Key words: breastfeeding, oral habits, malocclusions.