Relationship of early weaning and non-nutritive sucking habits with facial development

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of malocclusion features, convex facial profile and non-nutritive sucking habits among children with and without early weaning. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, from June to December 2020, and comprised of either gender aged 3-6 years. The subjects were clinically examined, and details of lactation period, bottle feeding, thumb and pacifiers sucking were gathered from the parents to assess association with malocclusion. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. Results: Of the 180 subjects, 100(55.5%) were boys and 80(45.5%) were girls. There was significant association of early weaning with non-nutritive sucking habits, absent primate spaces, deviated midlines, and complete overbite (p<0.05). Breastfeeding <2 years was significantly associated with anterior crossbite (p<0.05). Early weaning had no association with convex facial profile, distoclusion, anterior and posterior crossbite and increased overjet (p>0.05). Non-nutritive sucking habits had significant relationship with deviated dental midlines (p>0.05). Conclusion: Early weaning was found to be a factor in establishing non-nutritive sucking habits, and was strongly associated with crowding, disturbed vertical overlapping of incisors and developing decreased facial height. Breastfeeding for less than the recommended duration had a tendency to lead to anterior cross-bite. Key Words: Weaning, Non-nutritive sucking habits, Malocclusion, Crowding, Overbite.

Recommendations from Pediatric and Pediatric Dentistry Associations of the Americas Regarding Pacifier Use

“…These interferences can lead to the establishment of malocclusions [34]. Studies have shown associations between pacifier use and the development of anterior open bite and posterior crossbite [13,14].…”

“…This nonnutritive sucking habit can exert a negative impact on the tone of muscles involved in chewing and compromise normal swallowing dynamics [38]. Moreover, anterior open bite, which is found with greater frequency in patients who use a pacifier [14], may also be an etiological factor in the development of atypical swallowing, as swallowing dynamics are compromised in such cases due to lingual interposition and the absence of lip seal [39]. One pediatric dentistry association and one pediatric association reported the occurrence of mouth breathing in patients who use a pacifier.…”

“…On the other hand, when the pacifier habit extends beyond infancy and becomes frequent, intense, and prolonged, it can harm the dental arches [1,6,11]. Studies have demonstrated that prolonged pacifier use can lead to malocclusions, mouth breathing, abnormal facial development, and the early interruption of exclusive breastfeeding [11][12][13][14].…”

Effects of non-nutritive sucking habits on malocclusions: a systematic review

“…Fourteen cross-sectional studies [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] and seven cohorts [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] were identified. These studies were conducted in Brazil [23,24,27,30,33,35,[39][40][41][42], China [22,25,32], USA [36,38], India [26], Slovenia [28], Senegal [29], Puerto Rico [31] and Spain [34].…”

“…Breastfeeding is defined as one of the foundations of health promotion and the prevention of many diseases and is one of the pillars of correct maxillofacial growth because it favors proper lip sealing, jaw function and the position of the tongue against the palate [43]. Indeed, breastfeeding forces the child to actively extract milk from the mother's breast through the synergistic action of the tongue and facial muscles [7,[44][45][46][47][48]. In opposition, bottle feeding requires less effort to drain the milk, so it does not stimulate the functional matrix and favors the development of malocclusions such as a posterior crossbite, anterior open bite, increased protrusion and a class II molar and canine relationship.…”