PURPOSE: to characterize the kind of food consistence and speech production in children with normal occlusion and malocclusion related to tooth crowding, as well as to verify possible correlations and interferences. METHODS: sixty children from 7 to 12 years old, both genders, divided in two groups: (G1) formed by thirty children with tooth crowding and (G2), the control group, formed by thirty children without tooth crowding. Exclusion criteria: neurological or cognitive problems, oral habits, mouth breathing, dento-facial deformities, orthodontic or speech and language treatment. The procedures were: oral myofunctional and speech evaluation, dentistry evaluation and the appliance of two questionnaires to the children's parents about the child's history and nutrition habits regarding the food consistence. RESULTS: children without tooth crowding usually eat mainly solid food, while those with a crowding arch usually eat softened food, mostly influenced by the habit of drinking while the food is still in the mouth. CONCLUSION: it seems that tooth crowding is related to food consistence. The soften food consistence seems to be an etiological factor or to contribute to tooth crowding. Food consistence as well as tooth crowding seems not to interfere in speech production.
Dental Occlusion; Malocclusion; Child; Speech; Speech Disorders; Articulation Disorders
