Malocclusion, Oral Motor Function, and Food Selectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review and Research for Orthodontic Care
Paulo Vinicius De Oliveira Bastos
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present, as separate and well-documented phenomena, both a higher prevalence and complexity of malocclusion and a markedly elevated rate of food selectivity linked to oral sensory hypersensitivity and oral motor difficulties. Despite the plausibility of a relationship between these two conditions, no study has yet examined whether orthodontic or dental treatment, as an outcome or as an intervention, is directly associated with food selectivity patterns in individuals with ASD. This narrative review synthesises three established but previously unconnected lines of evidence—malocclusion in ASD, food selectivity and oral sensory hypersensitivity in ASD, and oral motor function as a mechanistic link between them—drawn from international (PubMed/MEDLINE, PMC, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate) and Brazilian/Latin American (SciELO, PePSIC, LILACS) databases. We argue that this intersection constitutes a genuine gap in the literature and propose two specific research directions: (a) testing whether oral motor function and parafunctional habits associated with food selectivity predict the type and severity of malocclusion in children with ASD, and (b) evaluating how the introduction of fixed orthodontic appliances affects the already restricted dietary repertoire of these children, with attention to potential nutritional consequences. Addressing this gap would allow clinicians to design orthodontic protocols that are both effective and sensitive to the sensory and behavioral particularities of this population.
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Bastos, P. V. D. O. (). Malocclusion, Oral Motor Function, and Food Selectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review and Research for Orthodontic Care. Boston Research Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 6(3), .
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© 2026 Bastos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Paulo Vinicius De Oliveira Bastos
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