Abstract

Objective:
Consumption of acidic food and drinks is considered as important risk factor for development of
dental erosion. There are several in vitro and in situ studies focusing on the risk indicators and preventive
treatment, however, the need for a standardized animal model has been emphasised for many years. The aim was
to establish an animal model of extrinsic dental erosion, which may serve as a standard for future studies to
improve our understanding of the erosion.

Design:
Two acidic drinks, sports drink and cola drink, were given to young mice for six weeks. Experimental and
control (water) molars and incisors were dissected out and observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Mandibular first molars were subsequently ground transversely and observed again by SEM. The tooth height
and enamel thickness were measured on the SEM images.

Results:
The lingual surface of the mandibular molars was most eroded after consumption of acidic drinks. The
cola drink exhibited higher erosive effect on mandibular molars compared to sports drink. The lingual tooth
height, compared to control, was about 34% and 18% lower in the cola drink and sports drink molars, respectively.
Compared to the control molars, the lingual enamel was about 23% thinner in the sports drink molars
and totally eroded on the certain lingual areas of the cola drink molars.

Conclusions:
This new animal model of extrinsic dental erosion and the presented method with ground molars
observed in SEM are suitable for further studies, which will gain deeper insights into the erosive disease.

 

---

Reference
New animal model of extrinsic dental erosion-Erosive effect on the mouse molar teeth
Tulek A, Saeed M, Mulic A, Stenhagen KR, Utheim TP, Galtung HK, Khuu C, Nirvani M, Kristiansen MS, Sehic A.
Archives of Oral Biology 96 (2018) 137-145