Eleven articles found a consistent association between salivary protein polymorphisms and risk of dental caries, for proteins related to antimicrobial activity (beta defensin 1 and lysozyme-like protein), pH control (carbonic anhydrase VI), and bacterial colonization/adhesion (lactotransferrin, mucin, and proline-rich protein Db).
In this study we aimed (1) to investigate the relationship between salivary hBDs and caries and (2) to evaluate the association of genetic polymorphisms in DEFB1 and microRNA202 (miRNA202) with salivary levels of hBDs and caries experience.
Our study replicated, on a larger number of individuals, previous findings showing the association between two 5'-UTR SNPs in the DEFB1 gene and DMFT, suggesting that these polymorphisms could be considered as potential markers for assessing the risk to develop caries.
Two single nucleotide polymorphisms in DEFB 1 were selected (rs11362 and rs1800972) based on being associated with higher caries experience in previous work.
We found a high-caries-experience haplotype (GCA), which increased DMFT scores two-fold, and a low- caries-experience haplotype (ACG), which decreased DMFT scores two-fold, in the DEFB1 promoter.