Abstract
506 of the 802 guardians/children referred to the PPM joined. As for the children, the most frequently assessed habits were: bottle (56.1%), bottle and pacifier (18.4%), finger (11.9%), bottle and finger (7.1%), pacifier (5.7%), pacifier and finger (0.6%), and bottle/pacifier/finger (0.2%). After parent participation in the meetings, 335 (66.2%) children abandoned their habits. There was a statistical difference between type of oral habit and time to abandonment (p = 0.0001). However, those with only one habit abandoned it more easily (72.6%) than those with two or more associated habits (48.1%) (p = 0.042). Presence or absence of breastfeeding and parents' level of education had no significant effect on habit abandonment. PPM was an important tool for spreading knowledge to guardians, greatly contributing to the abandonment of deleterious oral habits. Bottle sucking warrants special attention - mentioned by 81.8% of parents - either alone or associated with other habits. Thus, educational actions to implement the children's approach to oral health are fundamental to making behavioral changes and promoting education of healthy habits, thereby keeping malocclusions from developing.
Highlights
The State University of Londrina develops a preventive educational program through its Public Infant Oral Health Program (PIOHP-UEL)
The objective of this study was to evaluate the results of seven years of Protocol for the Prevention of Malocclusions (PPM) implementation, in order to better understand the deleterious oral habits of this young population, and its association with other factors related to the development of malocclusions
Even after the children received frequent guidance to abandon bottle, pacifier and finger habits, this study found that 802 (10.9%) of the 7,343 assessed children treated in the PIOHP-UEL (2006–2013) retained nutritive and non-nutritive habits at 3 years of age (Figure)
Summary
The State University of Londrina develops a preventive educational program through its Public Infant Oral Health Program (PIOHP-UEL). This program targets children aged 0 to 6 years, and is both a national and international benchmark. This pioneering endeavor was begun in 1985, and has been kept up to the present day. It prioritizes oral health maintenance based on individual and collective care, focusing on a preventive educational approach. The service offers educational activities for parents, and conducts preventive actions for their children.
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