Chemical Composition of the Molar Teeth of Albino Rats Fed Two Diets with Different Cariogenicities

¹ Emory University School of Dentistry, Atlanta, Georgia

Forty littermate pairs of intact albino rats of the Wistar strain were fed the Emory and Harvard high-sucrose diets from weaning for 170 days. There was two to three times more decay in the teeth of the intact animals that were fed the Harvard diet than in those fed the Emory diet.

Fifty littermate pairs of intact rats of this same colony were also fed these two diets for a period of 60 days after weaning. The teeth of these animals exhibited little or no decay. Chemical analysis of the enamel and dentin of these teeth revealed no differences that could be detected by the microanalytical techniques used.

It is concluded that the difference in the cariogenicity of these two diets is not due to an effect of these diets on the chemical composition of the enamel and dentin of albino rats fed these diets.