Dental malocclusion among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have more sleep breathing problems and parafunctional oral habits than individuals without ADHD. However, there is scarce information on the correlation between their dental malocclusion and these functional disorders. The objective of this study was to assess the severity of malocclusion in patients with and without ADHD and to evaluate the correlation between their functional disorders and dental malocclusion.

Eighty-eight patients aged 6-17 years were divided into 2 groups: ADHD (n = 44) and control (n = 44). A medical questionnaire to assess functional disorders and an orthodontic examination to evaluate malocclusion were completed for each patient. Distribution of the data was evaluated using Shapiro-Wilk test, whereas the 2 groups were compared with a t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Fisher exact test, and Spearman correlation. The association between parafunctional oral habits, ADHD drug intake, and malocclusion severity were assessed with a t test and Mann-Whitney U test.

Patients with ADHD had significantly higher severity of malocclusion (P = 0.042), more dental rotation (P = 0.021) and more parafunctional oral habits (P = 0.001), specifically bruxism (P = 0.005), and a history of pacifier use (P = 0.009), than the control group.

It is important to be aware of the increased risk of parafunctional oral habits and dental malocclusion among ADHD patients to develop preventive programs, as well as therapeutic strategies for them.