Introduction:

in Latin America, the prevalence of malocclusions, that is, alterations in the position and relationship of the teeth and jaws, reaches alarming levels and affects a high percentage of the children. Mouth breathing, a habit that deviates from the physiological pattern of nasal breathing, has become a public health problem. Worldwide, it is associated with the development of malocclusions, especially in children.

Methodology:

this was a cross-sectional, descriptive and observational study. The sample size was 194 students. We evaluated the presence of mouth breathing, and malocclusion was classified according to Angle. The statistical program STATA 14.0 and the Chi-square test were used to determine the association between the variables.

Results:

the prevalence of mouth breathing was 28.87 %. Class I malocclusion was the most frequent (61.86 %), followed by Class II (25.77 %). A statistically significant association was found between mouth breathing and malocclusion (p=<0.001). The most frequent clinical signs in children with mouth breathing were: posterior crossbite with 58.9 %, ogival palate (80.4 %) and increased overjet/overbite (98.2 %).

Conclusions:

there is a significant association between mouth breathing and malocclusion in the population studied. The prevalence of mouth breathing is similar to that reported in other Latin American studies.

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