The prevalence of malocclusion development in a group of Egyptian children with digit sucking aged 3 to 6 years : A cross-sectional study / Heba Ashraf Abdelsabour ; Supervised Mahmoud Hamdy Eid , Salah Eldin Elbehery , Randa Youssef Abdelgawad

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine - Department of Pedodontics

Digit sucking habit is a repetitive behavior that affects the occlusion if persists for a long period. Digit sucking does not only receive attention from health professionals, but often is an area that greatly concerns the parents of a child who practice this habit.Therefore, it is important for the dentist to understand this habit well to be able to help the parents and the child relate to it and to manage the child{u2019}s dental situation, (Gairuboyina, 2014).This study was performed on 185 Egyptian children aged 3 to 6 years. It was performed in the department of pediatric dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Egypt.An informed consent was obtained from the parents/caregivers after explaining the aim of the study clearly.Data was collected through a questionnaire which included personal information, dental and medical history, and information about digit sucking habit and malocclusion records.The children were intra-orally examined for the presence of malocclusion (open-bite, increased over-jet, deep-bite and anterior and posterior cross-bite). Extra-oral examination was done to check for the presence of blisters, calluses or redness on fingers. The examination took place on a dental chair by a single examiner using a periodontal probe, divider, a ruler, and marker and by inspection.Data was tabulated and statistical analysis using a commercially available software program and Chi square test was used for comparisons

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