Influence of eating frequency upon plaque formation and periodontal bone loss.

Abstract

The normal oral flora of weanling Osborne-Mendel rats was suppressed with penicillin, then bone resorption was induced in the test group by inoculation with Actinomyces viscosus Ny 1. In the control group the oral flora was suppressed with erythromycin. A programmable feeding machine forced the rats into extremely varied eating frequencies. Rats which ate less frequently than normal exhibited significantly less bone loss. Frequent eating was correlated with elevated plaque accumulation. AVIS-inoculated animals exhibited significantly (P less than 0.001) more plaque than antibiotic-treated rats. Both inoculated as well as non-inoculated animals exhibited significantly more plaque (P less than 0.001) when fed 28 times per day, in comparison to all other feeding schedules. AVIS-inoculated animals exhibited significantly (P less than 0.001) more bone loss than the antibiotic-treated rats. Inoculated animals which were fed only seven times per day exhibited significantly (P less than 0.05) less bone loss than similarly inoculated animals fed more frequently. Bone loss in the antibiotic-treated animals was independent of feeding frequency. Among the other feeding frequencies (14 and 28 x/day, and ad libitum), there were no significant differences either in AVIS-inoculated or in antibiotic-treated animals.