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Destruction of Molar Teeth in Rats Fed Amino Acid Diets¹

Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, California

Serious molar breakdown was found in rats receiving free glutamic acid contained in either amino acid or casein based diets for only 4 weeks. Gross appearance of the lesions was similar to that of typical caries except for an occlusal erosion frequently observed. Also, a favorable response resulted from diet supplementation with cariostatic materials, including sodium phosphate, penicillin and fluoride, and from decreasing the sucrose content of the diet. Diet acidity (pH 5.0) was shown to be a causal factor since increasing the pH by adding sodium bicarbonate or by replacing glutamic acid with casein or monosodium glutamate decreased tooth damage. However, extensive molar breakdown was also noted with a nearly neutral (pH 6.7) amino acid diet. The importance of bacteria in this problem was indicated by penicillin supplementation to the acid diets which nearly eliminated damage except for relatively minor occlusal erosion. Fluoride, provided in the rat's drinking water at 50 ppm, was more effective than penicillin in protecting the teeth from erosion when the acid diets were fed.

² Present address: Department of Home Economics, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801.

Manuscript received 10 May 1967.