The association of genetic variants VDR Taq I rs731236 and AMLEX rs946252 with dental caries susceptibility and severity in Egyptian children.

Dental caries is a worldwide ailment and universally affects about 500 million children. We investigated the clinical signature of vitamin D receptor (VDR) Taq I rs731236 and Amelogenin gene on X chromosome (AMLEX) rs946252 variants with dental caries susceptibility and severity in Egyptian children. This study enrolled 200 dental caries children aged 6-12 years, subdivided into 100 moderate and 100 severe dental caries subgroups, and 100 caries-free control children age-matched. The gDNA extraction was executed from buccal swabs and the genotyping was accomplished by TaqMan® allelic discrimination assay. Our study depicted a substantial association between mutant (G) allele of VDR Taq I rs731236 variant and dental caries susceptibility under allelic (OR = 1.68, 95 %CI = 1.16-2.4, P = 0.005), codominant (GG versus AA, OR = 2.66, 95 %CI = 1.22-5.59, P = 0.01), dominant (OR = 1.8, 95 %CI = 1.11-2.98, P = 0.02) and recessive (OR = 2.1, 95 %CI = 1-4.3, P = 0.047) models. Additionally, a substantial association between mutant (G) allele of VDR Taq I rs731236 and dental caries severity under allelic (OR = 1.68, 95 %CI = 1.13-2.5, P = 0.01), codominant (GG versus AA, OR = 2.6, 95 %CI = 1.15-5.9, P = 0.03), and dominant (OR = 1.9, 95 %CI = 1.09-3.5, P = 0.04) models. Contrariwise, our findings revealed a substantial reduction in dental caries susceptibility associated with mutant (T) allele of AMLEX rs946252 variant under codominant (CT versus CC, OR = 0.53, 95 %CI = 0.32-0.89, P = 0.02), dominant (OR = 0.51, 95 %CI = 0.31-0.85, P = 0.01) and allelic (OR = 0.64, 95 %CI = 0.44-0.9, P = 0.01) models. In conclusion, our discoveries suggested that the existence of the VDR Taq I rs731236 variant may predispose the dental caries susceptibility and severity, whereas the presence of AMLEX rs946252 variant may protect against dental caries.