%0 Journal Article %T The prevalence of finger sucking habit among preschool children in Kerman, Iran %J Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology %I Kerman University of Medical Sciences %Z 2322-1372 %A Poureslami, Hamidreza %A Abolbashari, Mohammadreza %A Shamsadin, Hoda %A Sharifi, Hamid %A Poureslami, Parnian %D 2013 %\ 04/28/2013 %V 2 %N 1 %P 18-22 %! The prevalence of finger sucking habit among preschool children in Kerman, Iran %K Finger and Thumb Sucking %K Prevalence %K Oral Habits %K breast-feeding %R %X BACKGROUND AND AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of finger sucking habit among three-six-year-old children from kindergartens of Kerman, Iran. METHODS: This descriptive, cross-sectional study used census sampling to select 1000 children from 40 kindergartens. Data was collected by a checklist and clinical examination.  Chi-square test in SPSS16 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of finger sucking habit was 3.4%. There was no statistically significant relation between gender 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 finger sucking habit. CONCLUSION: This study showed the decreased prevalence of finger sucking habit compared to similar studies. This difference might have been caused by the type of feeding (about 50% of the children in the present study were breast-fed). %U https://johoe.kmu.ac.ir/article_84774_ef5652008a7533f538b7d3d58748a2b7.pdf