Incidence of oral habits in children with mixed dentition

Recognition and elimination of an oral habit is of utmost importance in the treatment of periodontal disease. It is not probable that the influence of such a factor can lead to the alteration of gingival dimension, but a cofactor role of oral habits in the development of gingival recession has been acclaimed. The purpose of this study was to present cross-sectional data from an epidemiological study performed in two urban settlements in Zagreb, Croatia. The study was performed in 1025 children, in an attempt to try and discover the incidence of oral habits in children with mixed dentition, aged from 6 to 11 years. About 33.37% of the screened population exhibited oral habits, such as nail and object biting, non-nutritive sucking, simple tongue thrusting and lip or cheek biting. Chi-square test analysis showed no statistically significant differences between sex and age groups, a result that does not exclude the oral habits from aetiology of the periodontal pathology. We can conclude that oral habits are a frequent finding, although the cause relation to periodontitis has yet to be cleared completely.