Association of third molar agenesis and microdontia with genetic polymorphisms in vitamin-D-related genes

The present study aimed to evaluate if functional genetic polymorphisms in vitamin-D-related genes are associated with third molar agenesis and third molar microdontia in German orthodontic patients. Pre-orthodontic and follow-up treatment records were evaluated for phenotype definition. Saliva samples were collected for DNA extraction. Eight potential functional genetic polymorphisms in VDR [rs731236 (TaqI), rs7975232 (ApaI), rs2228570 (FokI), and rs1544410 (BsmI)], CYP27B1 (rs4646536), CYP24A1 (rs927650), GC (rs4588), and SEC23A (rs8018720) were evaluated using real-time PCR. Comparison among the groups were performed (third molar anomaly vs. control; third molar agenesis vs. control; and third molar microdontia vs. control) with an alpha of 5%. A total of 164 patients were analyzed. Forty-nine (29.9%) patients had at least one third molar anomaly. In the haplotype analysis, genetic polymorphisms in VDR and CYP27B1 were associated with third molar anomalies (p < 0.05). The G allele in rs8018720 (SEC23A) was more frequent in microdontia cases. In the genotype distribution analysis, rs8018720 in SEC23A was associated with third molar microdontia in the co-dominant (p = 0.034; Prevalence Ratio [PR]=5.91, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]= 1.14-30.66) and in the recessive (p = 0.038; PR=5.29; 95% CI= 1.09-25.65) models. In conclusion, vitamin D-related genes could be involved in third molar anomalies.