The Effect of Partly Synthetic Diets on the Dental Caries Incidence in Syrian Hamsters

Abstract

Exptl. diets containing 11 vitamins in measured amts., with 1 or 2 of these vitamins omitted from each test diet, were fed to 682 hamsters distributed into 18 different dietary groups for a 100-day period. During this time, the animals were provided with adequate amts. of the missing vitamins semi-weekly by intraperit. injn. for their own nutrition. As a plausible measure of the degree to which caries-promoting bacteria were retarded or accelerated in their growth and metabolic activities, the extent of carious lesions in the hamsters'' molar teeth were evaluated. Significant results: When vitamin K was absent in the diet, hamsters showed the greatest amt. of tooth decay. With the deletion of choline, twice as much caries developed as in control groups. Omission from the diet of nicotinic acid resulted in half as much dental caries as in control animals. Substitution of dextrin for sucrose in the basal diet caused a 50% decrease in carious molars.