Introduction:

oropharyngeal functions are attributed to genetic and environmental factors during the first three years of life.

Objective:

to characterize oropharyngeal functions in the second and third year of life, in children from Santa Clara municipality, Villa Clara province.

Methods:

a prospective, longitudinal and descriptive study was carried out from October 2014 to June 2017. The study universe consisted of all the children born at “Mariana Grajales” Gynecology and Obstetrics University Hospital in Santa Clara, in April and May 2013, belonging to the health areas of the mentioned municipality. The sample consisted of 64 children who were examined at 18, 24, 30 and 36 months of age. Observation method was applied for data collection; the obtained information was processed and subjected to statistical tests.

Results:

oropharyngeal functions, with the exception of phonatory, suffered a progressive deterioration as the age of the observed children increased; likewise, mouth breathing and swallowing habits with exaggerated protraction appeared.

Conclusions:

important changes in oropharyngeal functions during the second and third year of life were observed in children belonging to the studied cohort.