PURPOSE: to investigate the relation between time and type of feeding with chewing, swallowing and breathing functions. METHOD: the sample consisted of 52 children of both genders, aged between 5 and 8 year-old. Through a questionnaire, we collected data regarding type and duration of children’s breastfeeding and breathing. The children were submitted to clinical evaluation of functions, based on the Orofacial Myofunctional Assessment Protocol with Expanded Scores (AMIOFE-E). Data were descriptively and statistically analyzed. For testing the normality of the quantitative variable, we used the Lilliefors test. All relations among the variables were checked through Chi-square test, considering a 5% significance level. RESULTS: there was no statistically significant relation between duration and type of feeding and breathing and swallowing variables. There was a statistical significance between feeding type and chewing, but not between feeding duration and this variable. Furthermore, the significant relation failed to follow the expected pattern. CONCLUSION: it was possible to conclude that, generally, there was no significant relation between time and type of feeding and the investigated functions, except for the significance between type of feeding and chewing. Probably, the lack of significance is due to the fact that the development of all the stomatognathic system has multifactorial sources. The statistical significance found as for the chewing function, since it showed an unexpected pattern, may have occurred because of the restricted number of subjects in each subgroup.
Stomatognathic System; Mouth Breathing; Breastfeeding; Chewing; Deglutition
