Dental Anatomy and Characteristics of Periodontal Lesions in the Mongolian Gerbil

¹ Department of Applied Materia Medica and Therapeutics, University of Illinois, College of Dentistry, Chicago, Illinois, and the Department of Chemistry, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts

Forty-seven Mongolian gerbils were used to test the adaptability of this species to laboratory circumstances and to study the gross characteristics of its periodontal lesions. The dental anatomy of the Mongolian gerbil is described.

Thirty-three of the gerbils were fed four common laboratory diets. They adapted fully to the laboratory environment and did not show any evidence of unusual susceptibility to intercurrent infection.

Mild periodontal lesions with slight variations in severity were observed on various diets. The mixed-grain diet produced the greatest number and extent of soft- and calcified-tissue lesions.

These animals were not so suitable for laboratory studies of periodontal disease as were the rice rat and the hamster because of the differences between their tooth anatomy and that of humans and the mild character of the periodontal lesions.