Abstract
Stomatognathic function in children must not be considered to be the function of small adults. Functional development corresponds with growth during childhood. Adults require maintenace of acquired and known functions. If one of these functions becomes dysfunctional due to disease or trauma, the function can be recovered by rehabilitation. The concept of “habilitation”, namely development of function, is important during childhood, because children need to acquire new functions. It is important to recognize the stage of development at each age by the limitations and inadequacy of aquired functions. Because our research group has pursued various approaches to scientific exploration of stomatognathic function in children, the present review gives an overview of masticatory function in children.Children can perform typical masticatory movements until four years of age, but they don't have mature and developed masticatory function. Pediatric dentists need to recognize the developmental stage of the patient, and find the difference between the present goal of healthy function and the present state of dysfunction. If the dysfunction is a problem, “habilitation” must be performed to achieve the present goal and lead to healthy function in children.
