{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T17:18:20Z","timestamp":1783703900020,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,28]],"date-time":"2025-02-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740700800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"I.O.S.U.D. of G. E. Palade UMPhST of Targu Mures","award":["8231\/30\/06.10.2020 B"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["8231\/30\/06.10.2020 B"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) is a chronic infectious disease with a multifactorial etiology which has not been completely elucidated. Research on the role of oxidative stress in the etiopathogenesis of oral diseases suggests that the level of local antioxidants plays an important role in determining susceptibility to caries. This study aimed to demonstrate that the host\u2019s redox imbalance, modified by genetic polymorphisms, may influence the onset and severity of S-ECC. Materials and Methods: A total of 110 patients were included in the study (59 diagnosed with S-ECC and 51 healthy controls). Upon initial appraisal, the DMFT (decayed-missing-filled teeth) index was determined, and epithelial cells were collected using oral swabs for genomic DNA extraction. Genotyping of SOD2 (rs4880) and GPX1 (rs1050450) was performed using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: According to the results of the present study, there was a significant difference between the frequency of the reference genotype and variants for rs4880 (p = 0.0303). Subjects carrying the AG and GG variant genotype of rs4880 were significantly associated with a high DMFT value (p = 0.0005). However, no significant difference was found between the genotypes for rs1050450, nor was there an association with the severity of S-ECC. Conclusions: The AG and GG variant genotypes of the SOD2 polymorphism (rs4880) increase the severity of caries in preschoolers and predispose patients to develop carious lesions, especially when associated with certain feeding practices and infrequent toothbrushing. This observation emphasizes that host sensitivity to caries is a crucial factor in the onset and development of carious lesions in primary dentition, despite the main contributing factors to this pathology. The rs1050450 polymorphism was not associated with the severity of S-ECC.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina61030432","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,28]],"date-time":"2025-02-28T06:45:42Z","timestamp":1740725142000},"page":"432","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The Role of Oxidative Stress-Related Gene Polymorphisms (SOD2, GPX1) in Severe Early Childhood Caries (S-ECC)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"61","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6601-3870","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Timea","family":"Dak\u00f3","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Odontology and Oral Pathology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Gh Marinescu 38, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ana-Petra","family":"Laz\u0103r","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Occusology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Gh Marinescu 38, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5499-4299","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lumini\u021ba","family":"Laz\u0103r","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Periodontology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Gh Marinescu 38, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandra-Mihaela","family":"Stoica","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Odontology and Oral Pathology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Gh Marinescu 38, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adriana-Stela","family":"Cri\u0219an","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Gh Marinescu 38, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4490-9326","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monica","family":"Monea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Odontology and Oral Pathology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Gh Marinescu 38, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2943-4745","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina-Ioana","family":"Bica","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pedodontics, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Gh Marinescu 38, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (2016). 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