Educational and therapeutic intervention in children with deforming buccal habits.

• Main Authors: Jeny Fernández Martínez, Clotilde de la Caridad Mora Pérez, Raúl López Fernández
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas. Cienfuegos 2009-04-01
• Series: Medisur
• Subjects: hábitos; anomalías dentarias (prev); educación en salud dental (métodos); conocimientos, actitudes y práctica
• Online Access: http://medisur.sld.cu/index.php/medisur/article/view/506

<strong>Background:</strong> Buccal deforming habits are caused by many factors, which make more important the implementation of strategies aimed at reducing their incidence. <strong>Objective:</strong> To prove the effectiveness of an intervention strategy in children with deforming buccal habits. <strong>Methods:</strong> An interventional, after-and-before, cuasi-experimental study was developed including 133 children between 5 and 11 years from Abreus municipality. The research was developed in three different periods: diagnosis, interventions and evaluation. The analyzed variables were: deforming buccal habits knowledge including its consequences, age, sex, kind of deforming habit and dental maxillofacial defect. <strong>Results:</strong> Knowledge about deforming habits increased in children, parents and teachers and 66, 5% of the deforming habits were eradicated, reducing dental maxillofacial defects. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> The intervention was effective since we could elevate knowledge level on deforming habits and their impact and we could reduce them in a significant percent.