PRODUCTION AND INHIBITION OF DENTAL CARIES IN SYRIAN HAMSTERS

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS

¹ Division of Dental Research, The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, N.Y.

Preliminary studies of dental caries in Syrian hamsters indicate that it is grossly and microscopically comparable to the disease in human beings. Unlike caries produced in the rat,⁶ lesions were widely distributed in both maxillary and mandibular molar teeth and developed without evidence of fracture. As much as 50 p.p.m. of fluorine as NaF in the drinking water and upward of 68 p.p.m. of the halogen in the food were tolerated without deleterious effects and exerted a caries-inhibiting effect. The type of caries produced in the hamster and the adaptability of the animal to the laboratory seem to render it superior to the rat⁴ as a subject for caries investigation.