Finger-Sucking in Children A Study of Incidence and Occlusal Conditions

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Abstract
In this examination of predominantly 12-year old children the overall incidence of finger-suckers was 30.7 per cent. The habit had been given up by 17.4 per cent before school age, while 1.9 per cent still had this habit at the time of the study. Prolonged finger-sucking was more common in girls than in boys. The overall incidence of nail-biters was 26.6 per cent. Finger-sucking and nail-biting habits showed a tendency of coinciding. Orthodontic treatment had been received by 13.4 per cent of the children. The investigation showed that the finger-sucking habit had led to a decreased overbite and an increased overjet, but no postnormal molar relation. No obvious improvement of finger-sucking anomalies could be shown after the habit had been given up, when this had persisted until the age of 12-14 years.

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