Purified Diet for Dental Caries Research with Rats

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Abstract
A new caries-promoting diet (MIT-200, percentage composition of purified ingredients: pulverized sucrose, 67; lactalbumin, 20; MIT salt mixture, 3; vitamin mixture, 1; cottonseed oil, 3; and cellulose, 6) was formulated and tested for usefulness in a caries research experiment with rats. It was compared with a previously used caries-promoting diet (MIT-10) composed of natural foods in terms of rat body weight gain and types and severity of molar lesions after either diet had been fed for 15 days prenatally, 65 days postnatally, or both. Effects of these diets upon responses to a cariostatic agent (0.5% sodium trimetaphosphate) were also evaluated. Rats fed MIT-200 showed higher caries scores on all molar surfaces, than those fed MIT-10, but the lesions did not penetrate as far into the dentin. Sodium trimetaphosphate was significantly more effective in controlling caries when fed in MIT-200 than in MIT-10. Its primary effect was to reduce the extent of caries penetration rather than to influence the initiation of the caries attack. Diet MIT-200 is superior to natural food diets for dental caries research with rats because its composition is reproduible, it is adequate nutritionally, it permits the development of all types of caries lesion, and it can be used for the assay of cariostatic agents.