Relationship of acidogenic bacteria to diet in production of dental caries in the white rat.

It has been noted by Hoppert et al1 that white rats which received comparatively coarse foods were more prone to develop dental caries than those animals receiving a finely ground ration. This was explained on the basis of impaction; the coarse food particles became firmly lodged in or between the teeth and caries developed following the fermentation of these particles. The finely ground food was not subject to impactions; as a result dental caries did not develop in the absence of a fermentable material.In this experiment an attempt was made to determine the ability of certain acid producing organisms in pure cultures to produce caries when introduced in connection with a sterilized coarse ration. The following cultures were employed:No. 1. Lactobacillus acidophilus, oral strain, isolated from an old rat with extensive caries.No. 2. A rough type of L. acidophilus, from the mouth of a human having dental lesions.No. 3. A cocco-bacillus from same source as No. 2.No. 4. A coccus of fowl origin, isolated in ...