Objective:

to compare the gene expression levels of collagen type I alpha 2 (COL1A2) in children with and without dental fluorosis.

methods:

cross-sectional study involving 92 children between 5 and 12 years of age. socio-demographic characteristics, the presence of dental fluorosis by means of the Thylstrup-Fejerskov index, and gene expression analysis of COL1A2 in peripheral blood samples by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays, were described. for the descriptive analysis, measures of central tendency, dispersion and proportions were used. differences between the groups (p<0.05) were established by the student t-test.

results:

mean age was 8.6 (SD=1.9) years, 51.1 percent were female; 54 children were diagnosed with fluorosis and 38 without fluorosis; prevalence of dental fluorosis was 58.7 percent (95 percent CI: 48.4 percent -68.9 percent). gene expression of COL1A2 was statistically significantly lower (p<0.05) in the participants with dental fluorosis.

conclusion:

there are differences in the expression levels of the COL1A2 gene among the population under study. therefore, COL1A2 may be potentially involved in the development of dental fluorosis.