The debate regarding the genetic and environmental involvement in the aetiology of malocclusion started since the time of Edward Angle.
Progress in Orthodontic Journal published a paper in their December 2020 issue that was written by a team from South Korea led by Dr Kim. The paper tried to answer this uncertainty. The paper titled “Twin study—genetic comparison of matrix versus intramatrix rotation in the mandible and three different occlusal planes”.
The study is a cephalomteric based study of dizygotic twins (BZ), monozygotic twins (MZ) as well as their siblings.
The apparent mandibular rotation and functional occlusal plans showed high level of heritability correlation especially among MZ twins. This means that most of the skeletal and dental features of the mandible are highly inherited and less influenced by the environment. Moreover, the authors suggested that caution should be paid while changing the values of these structures such as changing mandibular position, closing open bite or opening a deep bite, as the stability might be jeopardized. The question is “Do we still need to continue believing those who claim growing and changing the position of the mandible?”
Personally, I belong to the epigenetic campaign but more inclined toward genetic!
What do you think?
https://progressinorthodontics.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40510-020-00344-2?fbclid=IwAR3SH71A66pAeGw9b3j_Fu8jLTF_IsQS3YimRiPuC8FIuqb-vwE38rvysXg