Journal of Dental Research, Vol 64, 815-817, Copyright © 1985 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Effect of oral nutrient limitation of gnotobiotic rats on acidogenic properties of dental plaque formed by oral streptococci
J. van Houte and J. Russo
The acid production rate of dental plaque, formed by different streptococci
in gnotobiotic rats fed a high sucrose diet or starved for seven or eight
days, was determined in vitro. Starvation had no appreciable effect on acid
production. This supports the idea that the small pH-lowering ability of
plaque of caries-free or stomach tube-fed people in whom exposure of the
teeth to fermentable carbohydrate is relatively low or negligible results
from a change in the bacterial population rather than a change in the rate
of acid production by an unaltered flora.
