TITLE:
Prevalence of Thumb Sucking Habits amongst Children at the Knust Basic School
AUTHORS:
Ama A. Amuasi, Daniel K. Sabbah, Yvonne Agyapong, Alexander Oti-Acheampong, Robert N. L. Larmie
KEYWORDS:
Thumb Sucking, Malocclusion
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.11 No.9,
August
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: Main Objective: To determine the prevalence of thumb sucking habits amongst children at the KNUST Basic School. Methodology: This study was quantitative and descriptive with the design being a cross-sectional type. The data was obtained from KNUST Basic School with a sample size of 200. Data was obtained through questionnaires and clinical examination. Results: Out of the 200 children studied, 19 (9.5%) were identified as thumb suckers, with a majority being females (13, 68.42%) and the rest being males (6, 31.58%). Most of the thumb suckers (47.37%) engaged in the habit due to hunger. The clinical manifestations observed among the thumb suckers included Class I malocclusion (94.7%), high arched palate (89.5%), anterior open bite (4), increased overjet (3, 15.8%), proclined maxillary incisors (4, 22.2%), linguoversion of mandibular incisors (1, 5.6%), unilateral posterior crossbite (2, 10.5%), speech changes (7, 41.2%), thinner thumb (7, 36.8%), elongated thumb (9, 47.4%), and callus formation on the thumb (2, 10.5%). Conclusion: Thumb sucking is a common oral habit which stimulates the growth of the orofacial complex from ages 0 to 3 years. The habit of thumb sucking is usually outgrown by age 3 but beyond this age, it turns out as a deleterious habit which has to be seen as such and measures put in place to stop thumb sucking.