[Dental caries in an animal model].

Sprague-Dawley rats were inoculated with Streptococcus mutans (serotype g) and the effect of different concentrations (20, 40 and 56%) of sucrose in the diet on the establishment of this strain into the oral cavity of rats was studied. The Streptococcus mutans was well established in all the experimental groups and we found an almost linear correlation between the sucrose concentration and the severity of dental caries. Another factor that played an important role on the establishment of Streptococcus mutans into the mouth of rats was the inoculum size used. In this work a concentration of 4 x 10(10) showed a consistent establishment onto the teeth of this animal model.