Do sucking habits in preschool children influence the position of the primary incisors?

The aim of this study was to verify whether sucking habits influence the position of the primary incisors. The sample comprised 34 preschool children (mean age 44 months ± 9 months). They were divided into three groups: group B (n=9) with a baby bottle habit; group BP (n=13) with baby bottle and pacifier habits; and a control group C (n=12) with no sucking habit. Data were derived from face-to-face interviews with the parents/guardians, oral examinations, study casts, facial photographs (frontal/lateral views), and cephalograms. The cephalograms were scanned and subsequently analyzed by one trained and calibrated operator. The cephalometric parameters recorded were: interincisal angle (U1/L1), U1/NA (angle/distance), and L1/NB (angle/distance). The data were analyzed using Stata 7.0. The Kruskall-Wallis test was used to compare the cephalometric measurements in the children with and without sucking habits. The level of significance was set at P≤.05. This study found a significant relationship between existing sucking habits and a protrusion of the maxillary and mandibular primary incisors.