THE EFFECT OF A DIET COMPOSED OF BARLEY AND FISH MEAL ON DENTAL CARIES IN RATS

¹ Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

Diets composed of ground barley and fish meal were studied for their effect on dental caries in the rat. It was shown that a diet composed of 50 per cent barley, 25 per cent fish meal, and 25 per cent sucrose was significantly less effective in initiating dental caries than a similar diet with only 5 per cent fish meal but to which 20 per cent corn grits had been added. The presence of sucrose, in the absence of initiating factors in the diet, did not increase the dental caries experience. The effect of adding 10 per cent yeast to the barley. fish meal diet was not associated with a significant reduction in dental caries.