Journal of Dental Research, Vol 69, 451-453, Copyright © 1990 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Reduction of calculus accumulation in domestic ferrets with two dentifrices containing pyrophosphate
P. H. Mann, D. S. Harper and S. Regnier
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Oral Health Research Center, Hackensack, New Jersey 07601.
Work performed by King et al. in the 1940's and 1950's, as well as recent
studies by our group, have shown that the domestic ferret is a suitable
model for the study of calculus formation, offering several advantages over
the rodent and dog models in current use. We have demonstrated that mineral
supplementation of a moist diet accelerates calculus accumulation, and that
twice-daily application of a regular dentifrice slows the initial rate of
calculus formation, but permits significant accumulation by the eighth
week. The present study compared calculus accumulation in female ferrets
receiving mineral-supplemented cat food and a twice-daily application of
either Regular Crest toothpaste (Crest), Anti-tartar Crest (Crest-AT), or
Anti-tartar Colgate Gold toothpaste (Colg-AT). Animals received an
ultrasonic prophylaxis, then were fed once daily for eight weeks with moist
canned cat food supplemented with sucrose and mineral salts, and were
scored for area and extent of calculus accumulation at four and eight weeks
after prophylaxis. The data show that the groups treated with the
anti-calculus dentifrices produced significantly less calculus than the
group treated with regular dentifrice; the Colg-AT group also exhibited
lower scores than did the Crest-AT group, especially at four weeks. These
results, similar to those seen in human studies, demonstrate that the
ferret is a suitable model for the study of anti-calculus dentifrices.
