The effect of uncooked and roll-dried wheat starch, alone and mixed in equal quantity with sucrose, on dental caries in the albino rat

Abstract

1. Eighty weanling albino rats, five from each of sixteen litters were distributed between five dietary groups in sixteen randomized blocks. Each block was formed from within a litter and each animal in the block received a different diet. 2. The main features of the diets were: group 1, 72% sucrose; group 2, 72% uncooked wheat starch; group 3, 72% roll-dried wheat starch; group 4, 36% sucrose and 36% uncooked starch; group 5, 36% sucrose and 36% roll-dried starch. 3. The rats were killed after 20 days on the diets and assessed for dental caries. The rats consuming diets containing sucrose (groups 1, 4 and 5) had significantly more caries than animals receiving diets in which starch was the sole carbohydrate. The diet containing roll-dried wheat starch produced significantly more caries than uncooked starch. The mixture of uncooked starch and sucrose was more cariogenic than the mixture of roll-dried starch and sucrose.