Prevalência dos polimorfismos do gene DLX3 em pacientes diagnosticados com taurodontismo na Clínica Dentária Universitária de Viseu

Abstract

Introduction: The process of the human dental development is very complex and any disturbs during such period could originate unique dental manifestations. Taurodontism is an abnormality of the dental development, which is characterized by the elongation of the pulp chamber and by apical floor displacement of the pulp. The etiology of this abnormality remains uncertain, but there are studies which indicate the possibility of Taurodontism being genetically transmissible. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of Taurodontism in a sample of patients of the UDC-CUP (University’s Dental Clinic - Catholic University of Portugal), and additionally assess the prevalence of polymorphisms in DLX3 gene in patients and their relatives. Materials and Methods: We conducted a pilot study characterized as a cross-sectional epidemiological study to evaluated a sample of patients, aged 10-30 years, with panoramic radiography in the informatics file of the UDC-CUP, with the purpose of assessing the prevalence of Taurodontism. After the selection of the panoramic radiographies containing taurodontic teeth, we used the Shifman & Chanannel classification to evaluate the dental pieces concerning the degree of severity of this trait. After the identification of the patients with Taurodontism, we proceeded to the collection of saliva samples of some patients and their relatives to detect the presence of polymorphisms in the DLX3 gene. Results: The prevalence of Taurodontism in a sample of 1369 panoramic radiographies was 1,75%. The mean age of the patients with the trait was 21,7 and there are no statistical differences (at a 5% level) between the prevalence by genre. From the 627 teeth analyzed, 6,54% were taurodontic. Hipertaurodontism was the most prevalent form of the trait (58,5%). Premolars were the teeth where taurodontism was most prevalent (51,2%) and the permanent dentition was the most affected . Conclusion: The prevalence of taurodontism evaluated in CDU-CUP’s population is within the range found in other studies. The degree of taurodontism’s severity most prevalent (Hypertaurodontism) is also identical to the values observed in other studies, yet the type of tooth was different, for in other studies molars were the most affected teeth. The lack of results in the search for polymorphisms in the DLX3 gene prompts us to suggest that changes to the methods of collection and DNA isolation (the use of commercial DNA extraction kits) are needed in order to successfully amplify the DLX3 fragments containing mutations.

Date of Award	17 Sept 2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria José Correia (Supervisor) & Pedro Braga (Co-Supervisor)