Objective: Oral habits mean actions which cause a non-balanced force on dental tissues and result in malocclusion development. The study main objectives are the evaluation and analyses the prevalence of different oral habits in relation to age and sex among children seeking orthodontic treatment in orthopaedic department clinics of Basra city\ Iraq dental school.
Materials and methods: The study sample consist of 144 patients (74 males, 70 females) the average age between 5 to 15 years old, data were collected by asking the patients and guardian and examining the oral structure. Data analyses obtained by Chi-Square Test, Mann-Whitney U Test and Fisher's Exact Test.
Results: Mouth breathing was the most prevalent oral habit about 26.4% followed by 22.2% for thumb sucking, while the last prevalent habit was 1.4% for bruxisim, the study shows no statistically significant association between gender and oral habits. Lip biting and thumb sucking occur at young age children and decrease gradually with age.
Conclusion: This study illustrates a higher prevalence of thumb sucking and mouth breathing related to other oral habits, early preventive measures of these findings is mandatory to prevent future deleterious effects on the developing occlusion