Association between oral habits, mouth breathing and malocclusion in Italian preschoolers

Aim This cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluatethe prevalence of malocclusion and associated factors inpreschoolers with the aim of assessing the existence of anassociation between bad habits and mouth breathing withthe most severe malocclusions.Materials and methods A sample of 1616 children aged3–6 years was visited by applying the Baby ROMA index, anorthodontic treatment need index for preschool age. Thefollowing were searched: the prevalence of malocclusion,the association of bad habits and mouth breathing withmalocclusion, how often are found in association and howthis association is statistically significant. Chi-square andFischer test were applied to verify the statistical significanceof the association between the variables.Results The data show that 38% of the sample needorthodontic treatment and 46% have signs of malocclusionof less severe degree that require a close monitoring andthe elimination of risk factors so that they can improvespontaneously with growth. Moreover the prevalence of badhabits and oral breathing increases with increasing severity ofthe malocclusion, and sucking habits and oral breathing areboth closely related to anterior open bite, posterior crossbiteand increased overjet.Conclusions In the context of prevention and earlytreatment of disorders of the craniofacial growth, bad habitsand mouth breathing, being risk factors of malocclusion,should be intercepted and corrected early on to prevent thedevelopment of malocclusion, or the worsening of existingones. From this point of view it is important to follow thepatients with a multidisciplinary approach.