U-M scientists will examine 15 years of patient clinical outcome data provided by an insurance company based in Michigan. Scientists will then recruit at least 4,000 of those patients and obtain their genetic information using the PST. They will combine this genetic information with 2 other common risk factors, smoking and diabetes, then measure tooth survival rates to see how those results lined up with the treatment plans people received during the 15 years. Some patients may have needed more dental visits, some may have required less. The PST works by identifying genetic variations that are predictive of severe gum disease and tooth loss in some patients. The test may be used on all ethnic populations and must only be given once in a lifetime to identify at-risk patients. Specifically, the test identifies genetic variants that regulate a protein, that when overexpressed, is thought to be associated with destruction of soft-tissue attachment and bone and increased severity of gum disease in certain patients. The PST can be used in dental offices and is available in all states. The company hopes the study results establish reimbursement coverage for the test. The insurance company would not have access to any genetic information. The information would allow the dentist to make a more informed treatment protocol. The year-long study is set to begin in the fall of 2010.
(Source: U-M School of Dentistry news release, August 12, 2010)