Büyükpatır Türk Tulca, Türk Barış Erkut, Kaya Yeşim
Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara 06220, Türkiye.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Gazi University, 06490 Ankara, Turkey.
Children (Basel). 2025 Jun 17;12(6):790. doi: 10.3390/children12060790.
: Mouth breathing in children may lead to craniofacial anomalies such as maxillary constriction. Pediatricians play a crucial role in recognizing early signs and making timely referrals. This study aimed to evaluate the awareness of pediatricians regarding mouth breathing and its orthodontic implications and to assess the impact of their treatment attitudes and clinical experience on referral practices. : A 20-item online questionnaire was completed by 110 volunteer pediatricians from various regions of Türkiye via professional networks. The survey included items on awareness, treatment attitudes, referral behaviors, and demographics. Composite scores for awareness and orthodontic treatment attitude were calculated and included in the analysis. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests, Spearman correlation, and binary logistic regression. : Most pediatricians were aware of the link between mouth breathing and craniofacial issues (awareness rate: 73.6%), yet only 14.5% were familiar with specific orthodontic treatment approaches such as maxillary expansion. Although 70.9% expressed a desire for further training, only 25.5% reported frequently referring patients for orthodontic evaluation. Referral behavior was significantly associated with both clinical experience ( = 0.004) and orthodontic treatment attitude scores ( = 0.004) but not with awareness scores ( = 0.12). : Although pediatricians in Türkiye demonstrate relatively high awareness regarding the consequences of mouth breathing, referral practices remain limited. Attitudinal orientation toward orthodontic treatment may play a more influential role in referral behavior than awareness alone.
儿童口呼吸可能导致上颌狭窄等颅面异常。儿科医生在识别早期症状并及时转诊方面发挥着关键作用。本研究旨在评估儿科医生对口呼吸及其正畸影响的认识，并评估他们的治疗态度和临床经验对转诊行为的影响。
来自土耳其不同地区的110名志愿儿科医生通过专业网络完成了一份包含20个项目的在线问卷。该调查包括关于认识、治疗态度、转诊行为和人口统计学的项目。计算了认识和正畸治疗态度的综合得分并纳入分析。使用卡方检验、斯皮尔曼相关性分析和二元逻辑回归对数据进行分析。
大多数儿科医生意识到口呼吸与颅面问题之间的联系（认识率：73.6%），但只有14.5%熟悉上颌扩弓等特定的正畸治疗方法。尽管70.9%的人表示希望接受进一步培训，但只有25.5%的人报告经常将患者转诊进行正畸评估。转诊行为与临床经验（P = 0.004）和正畸治疗态度得分（P = 0.004）均显著相关，但与认识得分无关（P = 0.12）。
尽管土耳其的儿科医生对口呼吸的后果表现出相对较高的认识，但转诊行为仍然有限。对正畸治疗的态度取向可能比单纯的认识在转诊行为中发挥更有影响力的作用。
