Genetic susceptibility to periodontitis

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

Epigenetic changes ('changes in gene function that occur without a change in the sequence of nuclear DNA') may be caused by the dental biofilm and smoking.

Main

Laine M L, Crielaard W et al. Periodontol 2000 2012; 58: 37–68

This narrative review uses 14 summary tables and cites 164 papers. Periodontitis has commonality with, for example, Crohn's disease in that it is a 'complex disease' involving multiple, low penetrance genes, each with a limited role. In addition, genetic risk factors for one population may not be the same as for another population. The authors cite a meta-analysis that found moderate/weak associations between IL1 composite and IL1B-511 genotypes and those with chronic periodontitis. In another meta-analysis, the TLR4 +399 R allele showed a protective effect for aggressive periodontitis. The reviewers concede that many studies in this field 1) lack statistical power, and 2) the classification of periodontal diseases is 'clearly unsatisfactory'.