Summary
Mouth deforming habits are one of the principal causes for malocclusions, among the most frequent are: Digital suction, lingual push, Onychophagia, Cheilophagia, mouth breathing, and chewing objects. The objective of the study was to execute a valuation and analysis of the available scientific evidence updated during the last seven years, regarding mouth deforming habits present in preschoolers and school children between the ages of 3 to 12 years old. A systematic review of the literature found in data basis such as: SCIELO, LILACS, ACADEMIC GOOGLE, published articles from the years 2010 and 2017 regarding mouth deforming habits present in preschoolers and school children between the ages of 3 to 12 years old. There was no restriction regarding sex or the geographical zones. A very high incidence of mouth deforming habits was found in regions such as Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean. In countries such as Cuba the incidence was alarming. The deforming habit with mayor presence in the sample under review was Onychophagia, followed by lingual dysfunction. Results like these were also found in Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia. The results from this review showed the importance to study the mouth deforming habits, which are the main cause of malocclusion. At the same time, these habits are the third cause of many oral health problems. For the most part, the articles taken as reference for the review showed that a there was no significant statistical difference between sex and the prevalence of parafunctional habit. The importance of the implementation of new investigation projects focusing on parafunctional habits in the preschoolers and school children is highlighted. This must be accompanied by educational programs in our country Ecuador, since there were very few published articles available for this study.
KEY WORDS: mouth deforming habits, oral habits, temporary dentition, mixed dentition, malocclusion.
How to cite this article
PARRA, I. S. S. & ZAMBRANO, M. A. G. Mouth deforming habits present in preschoolers and school children: systematic review. Int. J. Odontostomat., 12(2):188-193, 2018.
