Fig. 2: Regular dental visits associated with higher estimated buccal epithelial cell proportion in toddlers.
From: Impact of age-related changes in buccal epithelial cells on pediatric epigenetic biomarker research
Higher estimated buccal epithelial cell (BEC) proportion in children at 48 months (n = 300) whose parents reported visiting a dentist at least once in a year (0.84 ± 0.10, minima = 0.59, maxima = 0.98, 1st Quantile = 0.78, 3rd Quantile = 0.91) compared to children who did not (0.80 ± 0.12, minima = 0.50, maxima = 0.98, 1st Quantile = 0.72, 3rd Quantile = 0.90). Box plots of estimated BEC proportion by EpiDISH-RPC method were plotted on the y-axis against the categorical Yes/No response of yearly dental visits showed significantly higher BEC proportions, using Kruskal–Wallis test, in children who visited the dentist at least once a year. This difference was robust to differences in exact age at sample collection, sex, and maternally reported racial identity. “Source data are provided as a Source Data file”.
