Abstract
The effects of dietary sucrose and systemic glucocorticoid treatment on the response
of the pulpodentinal complex to dental caries were examined in an experimental rat model. The possible role
of dentinal caries on dentin formation was also examined. After 5-6 weeks of a dietary and/or
medication period, the areas of dentin formation and dentinal caries were quantified in the molars
of growing animals. Also the number and severity of caries lesions were estimated. The 43%
sucrose diet significantly reduced dentin formation and increased dentinal caries progression.
Although glucocorticoid medication alone reduced dentin formation, without dietary sucrose it did
not have an effect on caries. In combination of these two, glucocorticoids further increased the
progression of dentinal caries, however without significant increase in the number of caries
lesions. The cariogenic bacterial inoculation of rats fed a sucrose or control diet increased the
progression of dentinal caries. The relationship between cariogenic bacteria and caries was not
strong, but there was a stronger relationship between the total amount of dietary sucrose and
dentinal caries. In addition to the overall reduction of dentin formation there was no difference in
the amount of dentin formed between intact and carious fissures in the sucrose diet group. On the
contrary, rats receiving the control diet positively responded to the dentinal caries by increasing
dentin formation to prevent pulpal exposure. Whereas the high sucrose diet impaired both the
deposition and mineralization of the dentin matrix, glucocorticoids affected matrix formation only.
These results indicate that the functional alterations in the pulpo-dentinal complex might
contribute to dentinal caries progression in a cariogenic environment, irrespective of the causative
mechanism.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:oulo.fi/oai:oulu.fi:isbn951-42-5202-0 |
| Date | 25 March 1999 |
| Creators | Huumonen, S. (Sisko) |
| Publisher | University of Oulu |
| Source Sets | University of Oulu |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess, © University of Oulu, 1999 |
| Relation | info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/0355-3221, info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1796-2234 |
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