Heritability of deciduous tooth size in Australian aboriginals

The contributions of genetic and environmental influences to observed variabiliy of deciduous tooth size were quantified in a group of Australian aboriginals. Phenotypic variability was partitioned into four components; between sides, between fathers, between mothers, and between offspring. Results suggested that about 58% of deciduous tooth-size variability was due to additive genetic variance and 15% to common environmental variance. It appears that additive genetic variance is similar in both deciduous and permanent dentitions, but that common maternal effects are more important in determining deciduous tooth-size variability.