Dental caries in relation to PTC taste sensitivity, secretor status, and salivary thiocyanate level

Abstract

A previous study showed that tasters of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) had significantly reduced risk of dental caries of the primary teeth. The present study is a further attempt to elucidate the association with 137 white children of ages from 4 to 17 yr divided into def and DMF groups. In addition, the secretor status of the ABO substances and the content of the whole saliva thiocyanate were studied relative to caries experience and PTC sensitivity. The net effects of these factors were estimated by the least squares method. There was an appreciable decrease of caries experience of the primary teeth (def) in tasters being not inconsistent with the previous finding There was no apparent relationship detected between the caries experience of the permanent teeth (DMF) and the PTC response. The secretor status was found to be unrelated to the caries scores. The level of the total salivary thiocyanate appears to be independent of PTC sensitivity and caries experience.