Assessment of perception about oral habits in children among healthcare professionals: A cross sectional study

Background: Digit sucking, lip biting, nail biting, mouth breathing and bruxism are commonly occurring oral habits in children which can result in malocclusion in developing teeth. Healthcare professionals are most likely to encounter children with oral habits and it is necessary that they should be aware of the causes, effects and treatment modalities for such habits.

Objective: To assess the perception about oral habits in children among healthcare professionals, other than the dentist, by evaluating their knowledge, attitudes and practices.

Method: A cross sectional survey was conducted among healthcare professionals, excluding dentists, from Medical, Homeopathy, Nursing, Ayurveda and Physiotherapy specialities. A sample size of 400 was calculated using standard sample size formula by referring previously published articles. A 15-item validated questionnaire, containing four domains of professional demographic data, knowledge, attitude and practices were distributed among participants.

Results: Our study showed that most of the respondents were unaware about the causes of deleterious oral habits and had unsatisfactory knowledge regarding their effects on children. A lack of awareness regarding the prevention and treatment of oral habits was also observed. The correlation between knowledge, attitude and practices was highly significant (p<0.001).

Conclusions: Majority of participating healthcare professionals were not adequately aware about the causes, effects and prevention of oral habits.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2022; 51(2): 196-203