Association between maternal resilience and deleterious oral habits in preschool children

Resumo

Aim: To evaluate the association between maternal resilience and the presence of deleterious oral habits in preschool children. Methods:This cross-sectional population-based study included 428 preschool children aged 3 to 5 years. Maternal resilience was assessed using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Structured questionnaires were sent to parents to gather information on children's oral habits and family sociodemographic variables. The habits analyzed were onychophagia, digit sucking, pacifier use, and bottle feeding. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 with frequency analysis, chi-square tests, Poisson regression, and logistic regression. Results: Pacifier use was the most prevalent habit (31.3%). Onychophagia was significantly associated with female gender (PR: 1.66), age 5 years (PR: 1.83), and low maternal resilience (PR: 1.66). Digit sucking was associated with the child never having visited a dentist (PR: 1.92). Pacifier use was linked to low maternal resilience (PR: 1.68) and mothers working outside the home (PR: 1.54). Bottle feeding was inversely associated with age-less common at ages 4 and 5 (PR: 0.58 and PR: 0.44, respectively). Conclusion: Low maternal resilience was associated with a higher prevalence of onychophagia, and pacifier use habits in preschool children.