Prevalencia de maloclusiones asociado con hábitos bucales en pacientes pediátricos de la clínica UCSG.

Abstract

Introduction: Malocclusion is a disorder that has the potential to affect people's physical health, emotional well-being, and even their quality of life. Among the environmental factors that determine the development of malocclusions are unhealthy oral habits, a common problem in children's dentition, which can lead to malocclusions, deviations from the dental midline, and possible alterations in the temporomandibular joint. Objective: To determine the prevalence of Angle malocclusions related to the oral habits and facial biotype of pediatric patients treated at the dental clinic of the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil (UCSG) during the academic period A - 2025. Materials and methods: This was a quantitative, cross-sectional study with an observational and analytical design. The final sample size was 107 pediatric patients. The following were evaluated: malocclusions, facial biotype, facial profile, palatal vault, upper and lower midline, oral habits and their duration, age, and gender. Results: 90.65% of the pediatric patients evaluated presented at least one oral habit. Angle's Class II predominated at 52%. Class II predominated in the group with mouth breathing habits (57.1%), lip biting (44.4%), lip sucking (45.8%), finger sucking (43.5%), bottle use > 2 years (45.7%), atypical swallowing (59.5%), and tongue thrusting (50%). Conclusion: It was evident that oral habits are related to the presence of malocclusions and the facial biotype of the patients evaluated.