Laws of Tetracycline Antibiotic Deposition in Rat Incisors

¹ Department of Stomatology, Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia

Fixation of TA and fate of tetracycline complex in the teeth and in the long bones of 152 young adult rats were compared during a period of 10 weeks following application of antibiotics. The following conclusions have been made: Tetracycline antibiotics are deposited in the tissues of rat incisor in the growth zones. Localization of the tetracycline complex is the same in all tetracycline preparations, even if the doses and the methods of application are different. Persistence of the tetracycline complex in the rat incisor as well as in the bone depends on the intensity of the growth processes. Unlike the bone system, dental tissues where the development and calcification are finished at the time of TA administration are protected from the occurrence of the tetracycline complex. Intensity of macrofluorescence in the dental tissues and in the bone varies according to the amount of tetracyclines retained. Deposition of the antibiotic is thus dependent on the kind of preparation, its total dose, and the method of application; quantitative evaluation is not possible on the basis of fluorescence.