THE INCIDENCE OF DENTAL CARIES IN HAMSTERS RECEIVING TWO DIFFERENT WATER-SOLUBLE FLUORIDES AT LOW CONCENTRATIONS

¹ Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

1. Stannous fluoride administered in the drinking water at a fluoride level of 10 ppm has been shown to be superior to a similar concentration of fluorine furnished by sodium fluoride in its ability to reduce the incidence of dental caries in the hamster. Both the severity of the caries attack and the number of teeth affected bear out this relationship.

2. Less fluorine is stored in the skeletal system when stannous fluoride is given in the drinking water than when an equal concentration of sodium fluoride is administered. No disturbance in calcification is noticed when either salt is used as judged by analysis of the femurs for calcium and phosphorus.

3. The reason for the superiority of stannous fluoride in reducing dental caries in the hamster is not understood.

4. A new method of evaluating the severity of dental caries in small animals is presented. It was developed in an attempt to provide a simple and adequate method for recording dental caries in the laboratory animal.