Genetic polymorphism in esr2 and risk of tooth agenesis

Introduction: Tooth agenesis (TA) is the congenital absence of teeth. Several studies have proposed a strong genetic background for this condition. Aim: The present cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate whether genetic polymorphisms in the genes that code for estrogen receptors (ESR1 and ESR2) are associated with the presence of isolated TA in a Brazilian sample. Methods: Panoramic radiographs of 142 orthodontic patients were assessed to determine TA of permanent teeth (excluding third molars). DNA of patients was extracted from buccal cells from saliva to evaluate genetic polymorphisms in ESR1 (rs2234693 and rs9340799) and ESR2 (rs1256049 and rs4986938) by genotyping using the real-time PCR technique. For statistical analyses, associations between the distributions of the alleles and genotypes, and the ocurrence of TA were assessed for each genetic polymorphism, with an established alpha of 5%. Results: Thirteen patients had at least 1 congenital missing tooth. The number of congenitally missing teeth ranged from 1 to 11. The genetic polymorphisms rs2234693 and rs9340799 in ESR1 and rs1256049 in ESR2 were not associated with TA (p > 0.05). For the genetic polymorphism rs4986938 in ESR2, the genotype and allele distributions were significantly different between the patients with and without TA (p < 0.05). The CC genotype and the C allele were overrepresented in the TA patients. Conclusion: The genetic polymorphism rs4986938 in ESR2 was associated with the ocurrence of TA.