DOI: 10.25550/1-50e4
title: Dent3: Caries in Smooth and Pit-and-Fissure Surfaces

description: [**Link to the project pages of Dent3: Caries in Smooth and Pit-and-Fissure Surfaces**](https://www.facebase.org/hgai/DENT3.html) **dbGaP Study Accession:** [phs000095.v3.p1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_id=phs000095.v3.p1) **Principal Investigator:** [Mary Marazita](https://www.dental.pitt.edu/person/mary-l-marazita), University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA **Funding Sources**: - U01-DE018903, Dental Caries: Whole Genome Association and Gene x Environment Studies. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA - R01-DE014899, Factors contributing to oral health disparities in Appalachia. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA - R03-DE021425, Statistical Modeling and Genetic Epidemiology of Dental Caries in GWAS Analysis, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA - R01-DE09551, Longitudinal study of fluoride, diet, caries, and fluorosis. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA - R01-DE12101, Fluoride and other factors in childhood and adolescent bone development. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA This study from the University of Pittsburgh’s [Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics](https://www.dental.pitt.edu/center-craniofacial-and-dental-genetics) provides an opportunity to investigate the genetics of dental caries in the separately in pit-and-fissure surfaces and smooth surfaces. This project includes separate datasets and analyses for each surface type separately in primary and permanent dentition. This study is part of the Gene Environment Association Studies initiative ([GENEVA](https://www.genome.gov/27541319/gene-environment-association-studes-geneva/)), which was developed through the trans-NIH Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative (GEI). Information on how to obtain individual level data is available on [dbGaP](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_id=phs000440.v1.p1). Genotyping and quality control details are available on dbGaP and are briefly described in Zeng et al. [[Genome-wide Association Studies of Pit-and-Fissure- and Smooth-surface Caries in Permanent Dentition](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23470693), J Dent Res 92(5):4321-437, 2013] and Zeng et al. [[Genome-wide Association Study of Primary Dentition Pit-and-Fissure and Smooth Surface Caries](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24556642), Caries Research 48(4):330-338, 2014]. Dental caries is one of the most common diseases worldwide. In the US, the prevalence in adults is approximately 90% (Beltran-Aguilar et al., 2005), and in some high-risk populations, the prevalence is even higher. Treatment of dental caries consumes significant resources each year, and untreated caries lesions can lead to pain, tooth loss, and oral infection, or other co-morbidities. Cariogenemis is affected by numerous environmental, behavioral, and genetic factors, including dietary behaviors, bacterial flora, fluoride exposure, salivary factors, tooth morphology, etc. (Hunter, 1988; Anderson, 2002). Recent work suggests that the effects of genetic factors on dental caries may differ between pit-and-fissure (PF) and smooth (SM) tooth surfaces (Shaffer et al., 2012b). It has also been well-established that PF surfaces exhibit much greater risk of developing caries lesions than do SM surfaces (Batchelor and Sheiham, 2004; Shaffer et al., 2012a,b), and progression of decay varies between these surface types. Click [here](/hgai/DENT3.html) to access the data and results for this dataset.