Early Weaning as a Risk Factor for Deleterious Oral Habits in 3-5 Year- Old Children

ABSTRACT

Objective: To verify the association between early weaning, sociodemographic variables and deleterious oral habits in 3-5 year-old Brazilian children. Material and Methods: Retrospective observational study with longitudinal design used a random sample of 150 children representing a population of 388 children enrolled in public schools of Domingos Martins, Brazil. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire aimed at parents / guardians. The dependent variable considered for analysis was the presence of habits - pacifier and finger sucking - and as explanatory variables gender, age, early weaning and socioeconomic status. Early weaning was considered when exclusive breastfeeding was suspended before six months of age. Chisquare test was used to verify association among variables. Significance level adopted was 5%. To check the strength of association, Odds Ratio and 95% confidence intervals were used. Results: Significant association was found between variables age of 4 and 5 years (p = 0.030, OR = 2.193, CI = 1.029; 4.673) and early weaning (p = 0.001, OR = 5.045, CI = 2.087; 12.199) with pacifier sucking habit. Conclusion: Association between age, early weaning and pacifier sucking habits was observed. Early weaning can be considered a risk factor for pacifier sucking habit.