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Updated: Jul 20, 2026
Psychophysical Tracking Method to Measure Taste Preferences in Children and Adults
Published on: July 16, 2016
Heritability estimates for dental caries and sucrose sweetness preference
Walter A Bretz1, Patricia M A Corby, Mário R Melo
1College of Dentistry, New York University, 345 East 24th St., New York, NY 10010, USA. walter.bretz@nyu.edu
Objective:
The aim of this study was to determine heritability estimates for dental caries traits and sucrose sweetness preference.
Design:
Participants included 115 pairs of twins 4-7-years-old. Caries exams followed NIDCR criteria where the severity of the lesion was also determined. Twins ranked their preference for five concentrations of sucrose/grape juice solutions (0.15-1.17M) with a Face Scale. Variables submitted to analysis: (1) surface-based caries prevalence rate (SBCPR); (2) lesion severity index (LSI); (3) sucrose sweetness preference score (SSPS). Heritability analyses were performed with the SOLAR software package.
Results:
Heritability estimates adjusted for age and gender were: SBCPR-h(2)=64.6 (p<.00001), LSI-h(2)=61.7 (p<.00001) and SSPS-h(2)=55.2 (p<.00001). Treating SPSS as a covariate in the SBCPR and LSI models did not alter heritability estimates.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that variation in dental caries traits and sucrose sweetness preference have a significant genetic contribution that is mediated independently.
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