Genetics in Dentistry

Important to the development of science and to the evaluation of social structure, genetic thought is widening its impact on many areas: Immunology, biochemistry, cellular physiology, developmental biology, as also medicine and every facet of health care including the inexhaustible field of dentistry. All diseases have genetic component, whether inherited or resulting from the bodys response to environmental stress like viruses/toxins. The application of genetics to dental medicine is termed as ORAL GENOMICS that can aid in the molecular understanding of the genes and proteins and their interactions, pathways and networks that are responsible for the development and progression of oral disease and disorders. The availability and integration of genetic information into our understanding of normal and abnormal growth and development are driving important changes in health care. These changes have fostered the hope that the availability of genetic information will promote a better understanding of disease etiology and permit early, even pre-symptomatic diagnosis and preventive intervention to avoid disease onset.