Influence of Corticosterone on the Integrity of Salivary Glands and the Incidence of Dental Caries in the Rat

¹ Department of Physiology, School of Dentistry, University of Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri 64110

Intact weanling rats were given daily subcutaneous injections of 1.0 mg, 2.0 mg, or 3.0 mg of corticosterone or 0.5 mg of hydrocortisone acetate for 11 weeks. All hormone treatments resulted in a significant decrease in weight and tubular diameter of the submandibular gland. A significant increase in caries incidence was observed in all the hormone-treated rats, except those receiving 1.0 mg of corticosterone. Although corticosterone caused a decrease in thyroid gland weight, the protein-bound iodine (PBI) levels of the treated rats were normal. This indicated that corticosterone-induced increase in caries incidence and interference with the salivary gland integrity were not due to the decreased thyroid function.