AMBN gene polymorphism Alters the Caries Susceptibility of Adolescents in South China

The aim of this study was to identify genetic factors under additive and dominance models that contribute to caries susceptibility, and to investigate into the interactions between these genes. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1055 adolescents in Foshan, South China. The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) was used to identify caries. Demographic and environmental variables were analyzed. Twenty-three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 14 genes were identified from saliva samples. Regression analysis was used for the evaluation of direct and epistasis of genes under the hypothesis of an additive model and using the minor allele as the reference allele. After the adjustment by environmental factors, the G allele in AMBN (rs13115627) was a protective factor for caries under both additive model (P=0.007; OR=0.728; 95% CI, 0.579-0.916) and dominance model (P=0.021; OR=0.728; 95% CI, 0.556-0.953). No interactions between selected genes met the Bonferroni correction significance cutoff for multiple testing. Our results suggests that gender, one-child family, Cariostat score and Plaque Index have independent protective effects on dental caries. The polymorphisms in AMBN (rs13115627), under both additive and dominance models alters caries susceptibility of Adolescents in South China. No epistatic effect has been found between selected genes.