SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE ELIMINATION OF YEAST FROM THE MOUTH

¹ Department of Pathology and Bacteriology, Tufts College Dental School, Boston, Mass.

Tests on the elimination from the mouth of artificially introduced yeast indicate that, in descending order, chewing apples, sticky candy, chewing gum, paraffin and peach were more effective than toothbrushing in cleaning the mouth.

Preliminary tests indicate that carrot and bread and butter greatly aided but that prior use of mineral oil interfered with the cleansing mechanisms of the mouth. Intrinsic factors possibly including the rate of salivary flow seemed to be of more importance in determining the rate of removal of yeast than the nature of the cleansing agents used on a toothbrush.