Distancia interincisiva máxima em crian？as respiradoras bucais

introduction: the maximum interincisal distance is an important aspect in the orofacial myofunctional evaluation, because orofacial myofunctional disorders can limit the mouth opening. aim: to describe the maximum interincisal distance of the mouth breathing children, according to age, and to compare the averages of the maximum interincisal distance of mouth breathing children to those of children with no history of speech-language pathology disorders. methods: ninety-nine mouth breathing children participated, of both genders, with ages ranging from 7 to 11 years and 11 months, caucasian, in mixed dentition. the control group was composed by 253 children, with ages ranging from 7 years to 11 years and 11 months, caucasian, in mixed dentition period, with no history of speech-language pathology disorders. results: the results show that the average of the maximum interincisal distance of the mouth breathing children was, considering the total sample, 43.55 millimeters, and it did not show statistically significant difference between averages according to age. there is no statistically significant difference between the maximum interincisal distance's averages of the mouth breathing children and the averages of this distance of the control group children. conclusions: the maximum interincisal distance is one measure that did not modify in mouth breathing children, during mixed dentition period, according to age, and seems not to be altered in this population. it is also observed the importance of use of the caliper in objective evaluation of the maximum interincisal distance.