The prevalence and the etiology of the initial dummy- and finger-sucking habit.

The prevalence of dummy- and finger-sucking habits, or malocclusions of the type that may be associated with sucking habits, was examined in three different groups: Group A--415 small children from Mnene, Zimbabwe; group B--20 skulls from the Schreiner Collections, Anatomical Institute, Oslo, exhibiting intact deciduous dentitions. The skulls are mainly from the period A.D. 1000 to 1500 and were found in Scandinavia. Group C consisted of 280 young Swedish children. The study indicates that dummy- and finger-sucking habits occur infrequently among the African children other than as a symptom of a disturbance in the normal feeding and/or care in other respects. The investigation of the medieval skull material supports a similar situation among these Scandinavian children. In Sweden most infants are dummy- or finger-suckers. The authors introduce an explanation for the development of the initial sucking habits.