Genes Involved in Enamel Formation and Their Impact on Caries Susceptibility and Erosive Tooth Wear.

The formation of the dental enamel is a consequence of a complex series of events and when disturbed, visible consequences ranging from hypoplasia to hypomineralization occur. Less dramatic alterations of the enamel structure and conformation are argued to modulate individual susceptibility to dental caries or erosive tooth wear. The effort to associate genes known to regulate dental enamel formation with dental caries experience has been carefully reviewed in the literature, and this chapter reflects on these studies from their conception standpoint, highlighting limitations in design, and adds a review to the work on erosive tooth wear.