Frequency of Enamel Lamellae in Molars of Rats on Coarse and Fine Particle Diets

An experiment was designed to compare microfractures (lamellae) in the enamel of rats fed either a coarse- or fine-particle diet. The differences observed between these two groups, as determined by an arbitrary scor-ing method, were not statistically significant. Microfractures in dental enamel have long been considered one of the possible path-ways for cariogenic bacteria in the initiation of dental caries. Some cereals when ground coarsely are more conducive to caries development in rats than when finely ground.1-3 To explain this, Hoppert, Webber, and Canniff ' sug-gested that fine particles are washed out o