Gnotobiotic Contribution to Oral Microbiology

¹ National Institute of Dental Research, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Bethesda, Maryland

Attempts to use germfree animals in studies of oral diseases have thus far been limited. However, in those instances in which the gnotobiotic technique has been employed, the results have been extremely fruitful and informative. Dental caries has been induced in gnotobiotic rats with single strains of streptococci. Dental calculus has been observed to occur, in both rats and mice, in the absence of all demonstrable microorganisms. It appears evident that the gnotobiotic technique will prove extremely useful in studies directed toward the final elucidation of the actual mechanisms by which these diseases are produced. In addition, it seems quite probable that this technique will be of material aid in the separation and study of the factors that contribute to the development of periodontal pathology.

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