Effects of maternal education, gender, and hand preference in digit suckers on occlusion characteristics among Egyptian children.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate how maternal education, gender, and hand preference influence occlusal characteristics in 4 to 5-year-old children. Materials and Methods: 218 Delta University's Pediatric Dental Clinics children participated in a cross-sectional study. Data on sucking habits and systemic disorders were collected via a questionnaire, and dental characteristics were clinically examined. Statistical analysis utilized IBM SPSS (version 26). Results: About 54.6% of mothers had a moderate education level. Most children (84.9%) used their right hand for digit sucking, primarily their thumb (90.4%), with 50.9% of mothers not intervening. Chronic paronychia affected 20.9% of children, predominantly reported in 93.1% of cases. Dental findings showed 58.7% had a flush terminal molar relation, 63.3% exhibited a normal overbite, and 55% had a class I canine relation. Anterior crossbite affected 12.8%, unilateral posterior crossbite 11.5%, and open bite was rare (0.9%). Additionally, 3.7% exhibited maxillary midline shift, 35.8% had overjet >2 mm, and 34.9% had maxillary spacing. Conclusions: Males showed lower anterior crossbite and overjet scores. Maternal education significantly affected canine relations and overjet scores. Thumb sucking correlated with increased molar and canine relations and spacing scores. Conversely, right-hand digit sucking correlated with higher molar and anterior crossbite scores but lower spacing scores. Clinical relevance: Malocclusion, a significant oral disorder impacting oral function, facial aesthetics, and social well-being, is crucial to understand in primary dentition for effective preventive strategies.