Influence of Caloric Restriction and of Reduced Feeding Time on Experimental Dental Caries in the Rat

Abstract

A series of experiments was conducted on caries-susceptible rats to determine the influence of feeding habits on the occurrence of dental caries and to study further the reason for the effectiveness of caloric restriction on reduced incidence of caries. In these studies, caloric restriction caused major reductions in the occurrence of experimental dental caries. When the same caries-producing diet was fed for limited periods, comparable reductions in dental caries were observed. Length of food availability per day was more closely related to occurrence of dental caries than gain in body weight. The data are strongly suggestive that caloric restriction operated through the shorter period that food was available and thereby the shorter oral exposure than through caloric insufficiency per se.