EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES IN VIVO ON THE PERMEABILITY OF ENAMEL WITH PARTICULAR REGARD TO THE EFFECT OF SUGAR SOLUTIONS

¹ Department of Operative Dentistry, State Dental College and State Veterinary Medical Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

An investigation was performed to study the influence of glucose, fructose, and saccharose upon the permeability of enamel to tetanus toxin and different dyes.

It was established that:

1. Addition of glucose to a mixture of tetanus toxin and broth will increase the toxin penetration, and there is a definite relation between glucose concentration and toxin penetration.

2. Fructose will increase the penetration of tetanus toxin to a higher degree than glucose.

3. Addition of glucose, fructose, and saccharose to methylene blue, toluidine blue, or fuchsin apparently has no enhancing effect upon the dye penetration. The experimental results, however, must not be considered as fully conclusive.