The Influence of Antibiotics on the Periodontal Syndrome in the Rice Rat

¹ Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts

Three hundred and sixty-two rice rats were used in the study of the influence of antibiotics on the prevention and treatment of the periodontal syndrome.

A benzylpenicillin preparation and erythromycin glucoheptonate were highly effective in the prevention of the syndrome, even at levels as low as 0.005 per cent in the diet. Polymyxin B sulfate was effective at high levels but ineffective at comparably low levels.

In curative trials, a benzylpenicillin preparation resulted in a regression of the softtissue lesions but was able only to retard the further progress in alveolar bone resorption. Oxytetracycline hydrochloride and a combination of a benzylpenicillin preparation and streptomycin sulfate were less effective than a benzylpenicillin preparation alone in the curative trials.