Aim of Study: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of some oral habits (mouth
breathing, infantile swallowing, digit sucking) among school children in Lattakia city.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 825 childr
en aged
(8-12) years, from school children in Lattakia city. Information on oral habits was obtained
from the parents through a specially designed questionnaire. A clinical evaluation was also
done.
Results:.The results showed that the percentage of prevalence of oral habits in Lattakia
school children was 36.4% , and mouth breathing (22.8%) which was most commonly seen
followed by infantile swallowing (17.3%). Digit sucking was a less common habit seen in
only 5.8% .There were no differences in the prevalence of these habits between boys and
girls and there were no significant differences according to age .
Conclusions: The study showed high prevalence of these oral habits. This highlighted a
lack of awareness and care by families related to their children’s oral health as well as the
need to improve public health plans for orthodontic prevention so that future occurrence of
malocclusion can be avoided.
