Association of Locus Xq26.1-27.3 with Erosive Tooth Wear Phenotypes in a Group of Adolescents.

Erosive tooth wear is a multifactorial condition of an increasing prevalence. There is a need for discovering individual genetic predisposition for the development of this condition. Considering that the chromosome X locus was previously shown to be associated with dental caries, the aim of the present study was to look for the association between this locus and erosive tooth wear when dietary habits are considered as a co-factor. Saliva samples, erosive wear experience data, and dietary information from 16- to 18-year-old dental patients (n = 705) were used. Genotyping analyses were performed, and thereafter, analyses considering diet and oral hygiene data, using logistic regression, with the assumption that erosive tooth wear is a complex gene-environment model. Genotypic analyses revealed an association between chromosome X marker rs1324156 and erosive tooth wear phenotype. Logistic regression analysis showed that, in the presence of less common allele of rs12687601 and rs1324156, erosive tooth wear more likely develops when associated with numerous dietary variables from the questionnaire. These results indicate that erosive tooth wear may be the result of gene-environment interactions.

Enamel formation genes associated with dental erosive wear.

Dental erosive wear is a multifactorial condition that is greatly affected by environmental factors. So far, no study has investigated how dental erosive wear is influenced by variations in enamel formation genes. The aim of the present study was to investigate polymorphisms in genes involved in enamel formation and their influence on enamel susceptibility to dental erosion. DNA samples were collected from 795 Norwegian adolescents aged 16-18 years. Five single-nucleotide polymorphism markers were genotyped in selected candidate genes (ameloblastin, amelogenin, enamelin, tuftelin 1 and tuftelin interacting protein 11), reported to influence enamel formation. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared within two patient groups with dental erosions; all participants with dental erosion and only those with severe dental erosion (erosion extending into dentine). Overrepresentation of the G allele of the enamelin marker was seen in the erosion group compared to the unaffected group (p = 0.047). When erosion severity was considered, statistical significant difference in allele frequency was observed for amelogenin, with the C allele suggesting a protective role (p = 0.02). A suggestive overrepresentation of the TT genotype of the amelogenin marker was also seen in cases with severe erosion (p = 0.049) when compared to cases with no dentine erosion. Amelogenin was also associated with severe erosion in the recessive model; the TT genotype was significantly more frequent in the affected group than in the unaffected group (p = 0.01). The present study suggests that polymorphisms in enamel formation genes are statistically associated with an individual's susceptibility to dental erosive wear.