Role of Saliva in the Differential Cariogenic Properties of Glucose and Sucrose

Abstract
Diets identical in every respect except that 1 contained 64% sucrose and the other the same amount of glucose were fed to littermate albino rats. In 1 of 2 sets of experiments, the animals were desalivated; while they were non-desalivated in the other set. The caries score was identical on the 2 diets when the animals were desallvated, whereas the high sucrose diet produced a significantly larger caries score than the diet containing the same amount of glucose in the non-desalivated rats. Saliva played a significant role in the differential cariogenic action of sucrose and glucose.