[Pacifier sucking habit and associated dental changes. Importance of early diagnosis]

Introduction: The non-nutritive sucking habits are a physiological activity during the first months of life of a child, but if they persist afterwards, these habits can affect the development of dental occlusion.The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of past pacifier-sucking habits in a sample of school children and its role in the genesis of dental malocclusion in primary dentition, as well as to follow up these alterations until the next phase of the dentition (mixed dentition).

Material and methods: We performed a longitudinal epidemiological study on a sample of 225 children from age 2 to 10 years in the Basque Autonomous Region.Data were obtained by means of a questionnaire of children habits, filled in by parents, and clinical tests carried out on the children, recording the presence of alterations in dental occlusion, such as anterior open bite and posterior crossbite.

Results: We found a significant increase of malocclusion in the primary dentition of children who prolonged the pacifier-sucking habit. If this habit was abandoned early, anterior open bites improved, while posterior crossbites clutch remained or even got worse.

Conclusions: The pacifier sucking habit influences the development of the teeth, thus, it is necessary to detect early changes in order to prevent the establishment of dental malocclusion.