Genetic association between oral clefting and dental anomalies
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Genetic associations between oral clefting and tooth defects in children and their families.
IRAS ID
185686
Contact name
Marie-Therese Hosey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
16/NI/0026, HSC REC A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Little is known about the reasons behind some of the clefts that happen in the lip and palate of otherwise healthy children. Many researchers have argued that maternal exposure to environmental factors such as smoking, alcohol, pollutants could contribute to clefting in babies. Moreover, some genetic contributions have been widely investigated. However, what has been shown so far does not explain fully why many babies are born with a cleft defect when there is no family history. One possibility is that subtle tooth abnormalities in either parent, such as a missing tooth, an extra tooth, a small tooth or even fused teeth could give us clues to the cause of their baby’s cleft defect. The reasoning behind this is that as the foetus is developing, the roof of the mouth (palate) and the teeth form in concert in the oral cavity. Therefore, any insult that could alter the formation of the palate could also affect the formation of the neighbouring tooth buds. We will test this concept is by first examining the mouths of parents and their affected children, and making note of the number, shape and size of their teeth. We will then collect a saliva sample, which will allow us to identify the genes that are associated with clefting and tooth anomalies. These genes might be known genes that are already associated with clefting lip/palate, or they may be new genes. A few surveys have recently drawn attention to the link between parental tooth status and clefting; however, to our knowledge, none have tested this hypothesis in depth by combining with genetic analysis.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
16/NI/0026
Date of REC Opinion
1 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion