[Oral habits. Etiology and treatment]

Oral habits have been described by psychologists and psychyatrists as psychodynamic phenomena. Dentists are concerned with oral habits because of the detrimental consequences they have in the oral facial system. The dentist who is in a position to confront a child with an oral habit in order to treat his dentinofacial problems is required to be aware of the psychological background of his patient as well as of the conditions under which the children do the habit in order to overcome emotional difficulties. The dentist should also search into the child's family to find out what the causes of the child's oral habit maybe. For the treatment of an oral habit the dentist should ensure both the child's and the family's cooperation and he should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of every available method for treatment. Methods of treatment are: Use of orthodontic appliances: This method has the disadvantage that disturbs the child's psychological need for the habit, it can be interpreted as a punishment, it is visible and it causes speaking difficulties. It should be applied only in cooperation with the child. Behavioristic technique: This method aims to reinforce the child's positive behavior according to the Skinnerian principle: stimulus-response-reward. It has fast results but it is a conditioned treatment. Psychoanalytic method: It could solve the problem of the child's primary need for the oral habit in a radical manner. However it is practically impossible to be applied in Dentistry. Behavior modification according to ego psychology. With this method we attempt to analyse and understand the psychological cause of an oral habit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)