Evaluation of RURS elbow guard in the management of thumb-sucking habit in children with and without intellectual disability

• Published in: European archives of paediatric dentistry 2024-02, Vol.25 (1), p.75-84
• Main Authors: Shetty, R. M., Shetty, M., Shetty, N. S., Deoghare, A., Walia, T., Berdouses, E., Shetty, S. R., Shetty, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children with disabilities; Dental occlusion; Dentistry; Disabilities; Fingers & toes; General anesthesia; Habits; Intellectual disabilities; Medicine; Mouth; Original Scientific Article; Patients; Prevention; Psychotherapy
• ISSN: 1818-6300; 1996-9805
• DOI: 10.1007/s40368-023-00858-3

Background Digit sucking is a common oral habit among many children, which involves placing the thumb/finger into the mouth, which can cause malocclusion in mixed and permanent dentition. Aim To evaluate the efficacy of the RURS elbow guard in the management of thumb-sucking habits in children with intellectual disabilities and those without in terms of the mean duration of appliance therapy. The secondary objective was to compare the RURS elbow guard with an intraoral crib in healthy children (without intellectual disabilities) to manage the habit of thumb-sucking. Design Children with intellectual disabilities and those without between the age of 4 and 16 years were included in the study and categorised into three groups, namely group I (50 normal children; intraoral crib appliance), group II (50 normal children; RURS elbow guard) and group III (50 children with intellectual disabilities; RURS elbow guard). Results The mean duration of appliance therapy for groups I, II and III were 200.20 ± 20.43 days, 204.34 ± 20.56 days, and 218.43 ± 15.66 days, respectively ( p