THE FORMATION OF LACTIC ACID IN DENTAL PLAQUES

II. ORAL CONDITIONS OF PRIMITIVE BUSHMEN OF THE WESTERN KALAHARI DESERT

¹ University of the Witwatersrand, South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg, Union of South Africa, and Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill.

Clinical examinations were made of 50 primitive Bushmen for the incidence of carious lesions, calculus, and periodontal disturbances. It was found that these individuals are caries-inactive, the oral hygiene is poor, calculus is marked, and periodontal disease is rampant.

Laboratory tests indicate that the oral flora is not acidogenic and that after a sugar rinse the dental plaques do not become sufficiently acid to cause decalcification. The buffering capacity of the dental plaques and saliva is not markedly different from that found in white caries-active cases.