Printed in U.S.A. Brief Communications Effect of Diet on Dentinal Fluid Movement

D ESCRIPTIVE STUDIES have shown that a diet high in sucrose is related to a high incidence of dental caries. The data indi-cate that bacteria in the presence of a high sugar duet multiply more rapidly and pro-duce a greater amount of acid, which at-tacks the tooth structure. According to this commonly accepted hypothesis, bacteria are primarily responsible for the initiation of dental caries. If the hypothesis is true, it follows that bacteria should grow more rapidly, produce even greater amounts of acidi, and cause more decay if the diet is supplemented with nutrients such as vita-mins, minerals, or amino acids. On the contrary, supplementation of the diet with lysine, phosphate, or one of a number of vitamins decreases the incidence of dental caries. Evidence is accumulating that physio-logical processes occur in the tooth. How-ever, it is not known whether these physio-logical processes within the tooth are at all related to microbial action. In common with all tissues, fluid transport is present in the hard structures of the teeth. Flui