OBSERVATIONS ON EXPERIMENTAL DENTAL CARIES

II. THE EFFECT OF TWO SIMILAR DIETS HAVING THE SAME INITIAL PH AND THE SAME GROWTH-PROMOTING ACTION

¹ Department of Biology, Polytechnic Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark

Two groups of hamsters, 23 days old, were reared for 100 days on two similar diets having the same initial pH and the same growth-promoting action. The two rations had in common that 70 per cent of their content consisted of identical ingredients, mostly carbohydrates. In the remaining 30 per cent, the two diets differed quantitatively and qualitatively in certain of their components, as well as in their physical character.

Although both groups exhibited the same healthy appearance and the same growth rate, Group 1 had an incidence and extent of caries significantly lower than Group 2. Some of the factors which may have accounted for these differences in caries have been discussed.