Prevalencia de hábitos orales en la etnia Kichwa- Saraguro

Abstract

Objective: Habit is any behavior repeated regularly, bad oral habits can produce alterations in the dentofacial complex depending on the intensity, duration and time; therefore, the objective of this research is to determine the frequency of oral habits and establish their relationship in relation to sex, in the Kichwa Saraguro ethnic group of the province of Loja-Ecuador. Materials and methods: A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was carried out. Data collection was carried out in eight bilingual educational centers in the province of Loja, to individuals belonging to the ethnic group. A total of 1294 schoolchildren between 6 and 12 years of age were examined and the data were stored in an observation card. Results: The prevalence of bad oral habits was low at 10.13%. Atypical swallowing was the habit that was shown most regularly with 23.85% and digital suction and lip bitingwere the ones with the lowest incidence of 3.59% each. The results were presented in number (n) and percentages (%) and the Chi-square test p=<0.05 was performed for the relationship of the variables using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19 program.Conclusions: The prevalence of oral habits was low. No significant smilaritywas found in terms of sex. These results could be attributed to: prolonged breastfeeding, fibrous diet and the good relationship of the children with their mothers during the first years of life, which generate a strong affective bond between mother and child, a characteristic of indigenous mothers