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Background Non-nutritive sucking habits, bottle feeding and facial hyperdivergency have been suggested as the influencing factors of anterior open bite (AOB). There was inconsistent reporting of prevalence and a gap of knowledge in the literature. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of AOB in 7- to 12-year-olds, with a special interest to characterise the determinants of this malocclusion. Design A sample of 203 children aged 7 to 12 years were selected from a primary school in regional Australia. The legal guardian of each child completed a self-administered questionnaire. Data was assessed using methods of univariate statistics and neural analysis. Results The prevalence of AOB and thumb sucking was 24.1% and 23.2%, respectively. AOB was associated with the habit (correlation = 0.754) and duration (correlation = 0.574) of thumb sucking. Age, gender, birth order, feeding modality, sleep patterns, history of orthodontic treatment and tonsil, adenoid or grommet surgery, and parents' level of education were not related to AOB (correlation absolute value ≤ 0.474). Conclusions Thumb sucking, specifically for prolonged duration, increases the risk of development of AOB. Cessation of thumb sucking habits should be encouraged at an early age to avoid the development of AOB.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health attitudes and behavior of students in the oral health curriculum in Australia and New Zealand. Materials and Methods: The Hiroshima University - Dental Behavioral Inventory was administered to students in the first (year 1) and final years (year 3) of the oral health curriculum at Charles Sturt University in Australia and the University of Otago in New Zealand. A total of fifty-two year 1 students and forty-five year 3 students completed English version of the questionnaire in 2013. The responses were statistically analyzed by Fisher's exact tests and exact logistic regression models. Results: The responses of students in years 1 and 3 differed significantly for “I worry about the color of my teeth” at Charles Sturt University and at the University Otago, for “I think my teeth are getting worse despite my daily brushing,” “I put off going to the dentist until I have a toothache,” and “I don't feel I've brushed well unless I brush with strong strokes.” The estimated odds ratios from the exact logistic regression models showed that year 1 students were more likely to agree with above-mentioned four questions. Conclusions: Oral Health students who had been educated in a 3-year oral health curriculum in Australia and New Zealand had more positive attitudes and behaviors related oral health than did students at the beginning of their curriculum.