Wheat Cereal Diets, Rat Caries, Lysine and Minerals

Abstract

Diets containing wheat flours, dry or toasted bread, or shredded wheat biscuit, cerelose or lactose, and liver powder resulted in a high incidence of severe smooth-surface caries in white rats. Autoclaving whole wheat flours with cerelose or lactose increased their caries potential whereas toasting of bread had no such influence. A lysine supplement reduced the dental caries produced by diets containing autoclaved wheat flour and toasted bread. Mineral supplementation with calcium carbonate plus sodium acid phosphate or with milk ash, significantly reduced the caries produced by wheat cereal diets. Neither calcium carbonate nor calcium acid phosphate alone was cariostatic, whereas sodium acid phosphate alone significantly reduced the caries produced by a wheat flour diet. The percentage of ash, calcium and phosphorus of the dentin and enamel of both incisor and molar teeth was unaffected by extreme deficiency in dietary calcium and a low phosphorus content. These analytical data were unrelated to the smooth-surface caries as diagnosed in the molar teeth.