• Fares S Al-Sehaibany.
• Fares S. Al-Sehaibany, BDS, DMSc, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Pak J Med Sci. 2017 Sep 1; 33 (5): 1156-1160.

ObjectiveTo determine occurrence of oral habits among Saudi preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and compare it with healthy preschool children.MethodsThis study was conducted over a 14-months period in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The sample consisted of two groups; a study group (SG) of 150 ASD children, and a control group (CG) of age- and gender-matched 150 healthy children. The parents of the children in both the groups were administered a questionnaire that included questions about the children's demographic information and previous or persistent oral habits.ResultsThe prevalence of oral habits was higher (87.3%) among the SG children as compared to CG children (49.3%). The most prevalent oral habit among the SG was bruxism (n = 82; 54.7%), followed by object biting (n = 67; 44.7%) and mouth breathing (n = 40; 26.7 %). Among the CG; the most prevalent oral habit was mouth breathing (n = 40; 26.7%) followed by nail biting (n=18; 12%) and object biting (n = 7; 4.7%). The prevalence of bruxism, object biting, thumb sucking and tongue biting was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the SG than the CG.ConclusionsThe prevalence of oral habits was higher in the ASD group children than the healthy children.

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