Heritability estimates for dental caries and sucrose sweetness preference.

Authors :: Bretz WA
Corby PM
Melo MR
Coelho MQ
Costa SM
Robinson M
Schork NJ
Drewnowski A
Hart TC
Source :: Archives of oral biology [Arch Oral Biol] 2006 Dec; Vol. 51 (12), pp. 1156-60. Date of Electronic Publication: 2006 Aug 28.
Publication Year :: 2006
Abstract: Objective: The aim of this study was to determine heritability estimates for dental caries traits and sucrose sweetness preference.<br />Design: Participants included 115 pairs of twins 4-7-years-old. Caries exams followed NIDCR criteria where the severity of the lesion was also determined. Twins ranked their preference for five concentrations of sucrose/grape juice solutions (0.15-1.17M) with a Face Scale. Variables submitted to analysis: (1) surface-based caries prevalence rate (SBCPR); (2) lesion severity index (LSI); (3) sucrose sweetness preference score (SSPS). Heritability analyses were performed with the SOLAR software package.<br />Results: Heritability estimates adjusted for age and gender were: SBCPR-h(2)=64.6 (p<.00001), LSI-h(2)=61.7 (p<.00001) and SSPS-h(2)=55.2 (p<.00001). Treating SPSS as a covariate in the SBCPR and LSI models did not alter heritability estimates.<br />Conclusions: These results suggest that variation in dental caries traits and sucrose sweetness preference have a significant genetic contribution that is mediated independently.