Influence of dietary iron on the dental caries incidence and growth of rats fed an experimental diet.

In view of the fact that supplementation with essential nutrients improves the quality of diet NIH 2000 and enhances growth, this study was carried out to determine the effects of supplementation with a specific nutrient. Diet 2000 was supplemented with 35 ppm of FeSO4 and fed ad libitum for 40 days. Iron supplementation reverses the caries process and reduces its incidence especially in the buccal surfaces which are bathed readily by saliva. In addition, hemoglobin and hematocrit, growth and pigmentation of the incisor teeth improve significantly with supplementation. The results of this experiment suggest that the effect of diet in the caries process involves not only the sucrose component of the diet but also an essential nutrient such as iron.