Methods: The study sample consisted of 69 children between ages 2 and 12 years (mean of 5.1 years) born with cleft lip with or without palate and cleft palate alone. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers in DEFB1 were selected for this study (rs11362 and rs1800972) based on being associated with higher caries experience in our previous work. Caries experience was evaluated with DMF (Decayed, Missing due to caries, Filled) indices for Teeth (DMFT) and Surfaces (DMFS). The χ2test and odds ratios calculations were used to compare children with high and low caries experience as implemented in the PLINK 1.05 software and Epi Info3.5.3 statistical software packages.
Results: An association was found between the G allele in rs11362 G and higher caries experience (p=0.047). When we compared the genotypes AA vs AG+GG, having at least one copy of the G allele was associated with higher caries experience (p=0.031; OR=3.16; 95%CI 0.97-10.62).
Conclusions: Our data support a role of the DEFB1 gene in caries in children with cleft lip and palate in Latvia. Other studies are warranted to identify the mechanism underlying the role of DEFB1 in caries. This work is supported by the NIH grant R01-DE18914.