Dummy- and finger-sucking habits in young Swedish and Norwegian children.

The prevalence of dummy- and finger-sucking habits in 3-yr-old children was registered in four different areas of Sweden and Norway. In Norway 245 children were examined and in Sweden 171 children. The Swedish children were more prone to develop a dummy-sucking habit as well as to prolong it. About 10-19% of the children in the different groups become finger-suckers. Very few of these finger-suckers had stopped sucking at 3 yr of age. The highest rate of non-suckers was found among the children from Karasjok/Kautokeino in northern Norway, who were mainly of Lappish origin.