%0 Journal Article %T The prevalence of finger sucking habit among presch ool children in Kerman, Iran %A Hamid Reza Poureslami DDS %A MSc %A Mohammad Reza Abolbashari DDS %A MSc %A Hoda Shamsadin %A Hamid Sharifi DVM %A PhD %J Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology %D 2013 %I Kerman University of Medical Sciences %X BACKGROUND AND AIM:The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of finger sucking habit amongthree-six-year-old children from kindergartens of Kerman, Iran.METHODS:This descriptive, cross-sectional study used censussampling to select 1000 children from 40 kindergartens.Data was collected by a checklist and clinical examination. Chi-square test in SPSS16wasused for statistical analysis.RESULTS:The prevalence of finger sucking habit was 3.4%. There was no statistically significant relation betweengender and the habit. Pacifier sucking habit was not an influencing factor in finger sucking habit. Most children(47.06%) had received exclusive breastfeeding. Anterior open bite was seen in 50.00% of the children with fingersucking habit.CONCLUSIONS:This study showed the decreased prevalence of finger sucking habit compared to similar studies. Thisdifference might have been caused by the type of feeding (about 50% of the children in the present study were breast-fed). %K Finger and Thumb Sucking %K Prevalence %K Oral Habits %K Breast-Feeding %U http://johoe.kmu.ac.ir/index.php/johoe/article/view/32/51