Gross Dental Lesions in the Rat Induced by X-Rays and Neutrons

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Abstract
Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed at 101 days of age to single whole-body doses of x-rays (430 or 680 rads) or of neutrons (230, 320 or 360 rads) in the high sublethal and 30 day lethal ranges. A chalky zone was detected in the tooth substance at the gingival crest of mandibular incisors approximately 35 days postirradiation and in maxillary incisors several weeks later. The intensity of the lesion varied with dose and type of radiation, being least after sublethal x-irradiation and greatest after lethal neutron doses. The incidence of animals with one or more lesions was 97% after 430 rads and 100% after all other doses. The lesions disappeared after the 4th postirradiation month, due to attrition at the occlusal edges of the continually growing incisors. The number of animals with fractured incisors increased with higher doses. Fractures were predominantly in mandibular teeth. The use of meal food in open containers markedly reduced the incidence of fractures. Neutron irradiation appears to be 2 to 3 times as effective as effective as x-rays in producing the defects described.