Prevalence of habit breaking appliance therapy in 6 to 12 year old children - A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Habits are certain oral activities like digit sucking, thumb sucking, lip sucking, and mouth breathing which can occur consciously or unconsciously. When these habits are automatic, particularly in children, they can lead to dental issues or malocclusion. The primary treatment for these patients is habit-breaking appliance therapy. These appliances function by curbing oral habits and thereby preventing malocclusion. Aim: To assess the prevalence, gender, and distribution of usage of habit-breaking appliances among 6 to 12-year-old children Materials and Methods: A total of 2973 patients, ranging in age from 6 to 12 years, who underwent pulpectomy habit-breaking appliances therapy were selected, and their treatment details such as duration, type of appliance were obtained from the patient records to obtain the prevalence. Information on habits and habit-breaking appliances was also collected, noted and tabulated in excel and imported to SPSS. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were done. There was a statistical significance between age and habits-breaking appliances (p<0.05). Result: Of the 2973 records evaluated, it was noted that fixed appliances for tongue thrusting habits accounted for 29.82% of the treatments. Among children aged 6-8 years, fixed appliances for thumb-sucking were the most commonly used. Additionally, fixed appliances for thumb sucking were the most frequently utilized habit-breaking devices among males. Conclusion: In conclusion, the use of habit-breaking appliances was more frequent among males than female children in the studied population. Tongue thrusting emerged as the most common oral habit, with the tongue crib being the preferred appliance for addressing this issue.