Gene-Environment Interactions in Early Childhood Caries

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a multifactorial disease with genetic and environmental risk factors. We will present preliminary evidence on the interaction of human genetic polymorphisms with two strong ECC risk factors, i.e. sugary snacks/beverage consumption frequency and sub-optimal fluoride exposure in home water. We identified 19 genome-wide significant gene-environment interactions, including several with potentially relevant functional roles. This evidence of gene-environment interactions in ECC could potentially be leveraged in risk assessment and precision dentistry applications.