The Erosive Action of Various Fruit Juices on the Lower Molar Teeth of the Albino Rat

Abstract

Erosion in the lower molar teeth of the albino rat resulted from the daily ingestion of each of the following canned fruit juices when they served as the sole fluid intake over a period of 100 days: apple, grape, orange, tomato, sweetened grape-fruit, pineapple and prune. The greatest amount of erosion occurred in the teeth of the animals on apple, grape, and grapefruit juice, the least in those of the animals on tomato and prune juice. Erosion of a milder degree also resulted from the ingestion of tomato, orange, and sweetened grapefruit juice 3 times a day for 200 days. There appeared to be some relationship but not a strict correspondence between the degree of acidity of the juices and the amount of tooth destruction.