Follow-up study of functional and morphological malocclusion trait changes from 3 to 12 years of age

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate morphological and functional malocclusion trait changes in 3- to 12-year-old children and to determine whether such functional traits at the 3, 4, and 5 years of age correlated with malocclusion severity score at 12 years of age. Two hundred and sixty-seven children (132 boys, 135 girls) were randomly selected for a follow-up study from a previous cohort of 560 subjects. Functional and morphological traits were clinically assessed. Five functional malocclusion traits: mouth breathing, atypical swallowing, thumb, pacifier sucking, and bottle feeding were assessed and evaluated. Intra-arch assessment involved measurements of incisor crowding, rotation of incisors, and axial inclination of the teeth. For inter-arch measurements, overbite, anterior open bite, overjet, reverse overjet, anterior crossbite, and buccal segment relationships were recorded. The weighted sum of recorded occlusal traits thus represented the total malocclusion severity score. The median morphological malocclusion severity score was almost the same at 3 and 12 years of age, while functional malocclusion decreased. Sucking habits (finger- or dummy-sucking, bottle feeding) until 5 years of age were statistically significantly correlated with an atypical swallowing pattern from 6 to 9 years (Spearman r = 0.178, P = 0.017), which in turn was statistically significantly correlated with the morphological malocclusion severity score (Spearman r = 0.185, P = 0.042) at 12 years of age. At an early age, the morphological severity score is related to the stage of dental development, while at a later period, malocclusion severity score is also the result of incorrect orofacial functions at an early stage of dental development.

Cephalometric Evaluation of the Airway Space and Hyoid Bone in Children with Atypical Deglutition: Correlations Study

“…Appealing study topics include the expansion of the classifications of deglutition (Peng et al, 2004;Ovsenik et al;Bertolini et al); the causes of atypical deglutition and its consequences (Cheng et al, 2002); diagnostic methods (Cayley et al; Bibby) age at its onset, and treatment methods.…”

“…However, it is then considered as a dysfunction or abnormality because of its association with certain dental malocclusions and facial growing alterations (Peng et al, 2003;Graber et al, 1985). Such deglutition is classified as atypical (Peng et al, 2004;Ovsenik et al, 2007;Bertolini et al, 2003).…”

“…By placing the hands on the masseters it is possible to observe the presence or absence of contraction and to observe the ascendant movement of the hyoid bone under the thyroid cartilage. The participation of the perioral muscles is also observed, as well as whether the swallowing is loud, if there is a retraction movement with the head, the presence of any signal which characterizes child swallowing (Peng et al, 2003(Peng et al, , 2004Ovsenik et al;Bertolini et al). For a variety of reasons that so far remain incompletely explained, 'infantile swallowing' may continue beyond the replacement of the deciduous teeth.…”

Características de la oclusión en respiradores bucales de 6 a 12 años de la Clínica del Niño en la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Antioquia

“…Todas estas variables y sus diferentes clasificaciones se tomaron según revisión de la literatura existente en el tema [17].…”

Cephalometric evaluation of the airway space and hyoid bone in children with normal and atypical deglutition: correlation study

“…[3][4][5] Recent studies have investigated the swallowing pattern in relation to child development and have concluded that atypical swallowing is present in half of the children examined at the age of three years, but changes significantly after the age of six years.…”