Dental Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, University Foundation 'San Martin', Seat of Port Colombia, Colombia.
Paediatric Unit Sant'Andrea Hospital, NESMOS Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University 'La Sapienza', Rome, Italy.
Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2014 Sep;15(3):326-31.
Finger-sucking in early childhood can induce morphologic changes in the oropharynx and upper airways, which could arise even in children without reported oral breathing. The aim of this study was to compare cephalometric findings in children with and without finger sucking habit with respect to oral breathing.
Fifty-six children aged 4 to 12 years (28 with diagnosis of finger sucking and 28 controls) treated at the Port Colombia Dental Clinic underwent cephalometric radiographs, from which morphologic (n=11, whole skull), upper airways (n=10), hyoid bone (n=3) and postural (n=5) measurements were performed. The unpaired t-test was used for comparison between groups.
Both groups had similar age and gender distribution (7.9 yrs ± 2.9; M/F: 14/14). Patients with finger-sucking habit had a higher hard palate length from the anterior nasal spine to the posterior nasal spine (finger-sucking subjects: 50.18 mm; controls: 46.91 mm; p = 0.0001) and distance from the epiglottic vallecula to the posterior pharyngeal wall (finger-sucking subjects: 15.55 mm; controls: 13.36 mm; p = 0.0231) than control subjects. Patients with finger-sucking habits also had a shorter distance from the posterior nasal spine to the adenoids (14.91 mm vs. 17.82 mm; p = 0.0173), wider cranial-cervical angles (105.64 mm vs. 101.6 mm; p = 0.05) and lower hyoid bone positioning (14.55 mm vs. 11.82 mm; p = 0.0125) than controls.
Finger-sucking habit is associated with characteristic cephalometric changes even in children without oral breathing, especially at the hyoid bone and postural measurements.
儿童早期吮指可导致口咽和上呼吸道的形态改变，即使在没有报告口腔呼吸的儿童中也可能出现这种情况。本研究的目的是比较有和无吮指习惯的儿童的头影测量学发现，以了解口腔呼吸的情况。
56 名年龄在 4 至 12 岁之间的儿童（28 名被诊断为吮指，28 名对照组）在哥伦比亚港牙科诊所接受了头颅侧位片检查，对其进行了形态学（n=11，全颅骨）、上呼吸道（n=10）、舌骨（n=3）和姿势（n=5）测量。采用配对 t 检验比较两组间的差异。
两组的年龄和性别分布相似（7.9 岁±2.9；M/F：14/14）。有吮指习惯的患者硬腭长度从前鼻棘到后鼻棘（吮指组：50.18 毫米；对照组：46.91 毫米；p=0.0001）和从会厌谷到后咽壁的距离（吮指组：15.55 毫米；对照组：13.36 毫米；p=0.0231）均大于对照组。有吮指习惯的患者后鼻棘到腺样体的距离也较短（14.91 毫米对 17.82 毫米；p=0.0173），颅颈角较宽（105.64 毫米对 101.6 毫米；p=0.05），舌骨位置较低（14.55 毫米对 11.82 毫米；p=0.0125）。
即使在没有口腔呼吸的儿童中，吮指习惯也与特征性的头影测量变化有关，特别是在舌骨和姿势测量方面。
