An electron probe x-ray microanalytical study of dentine minerals in sucrose-fed or glucocorticoid-medicated rats

A high sucrose diet and glucocorticoid medication reduced dentine formation in molars of growing rats. This study was undertaken to determine whether the treatment schedules could have produced commensurate reductions in dentine minerals, and the particular concentrations of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P). Forty Spraque-Dawley rats were weaned at the age of 3 weeks. Tetracycline was injected i.p. to produce a fluorescent line which demarcated the preweaning from the postweaning dentine. The animals were then divided into two groups. Control rats were fed a commercial rat chow, test animals were fed a 43% sucrose diet. Half the animals in each group were also subjected to surgical implantation (s.c.) of cortisone pellets which released 0.42 mg into the circulation over a 24-hour period. At the end of the 6 week trials rats were killed and the mandibles were defleshed and prepared for electron probe microanalyzer. Each animal served as its own control, as the content of Ca, P, and total minerals were analyzed in the pre- and postweaning regions of dentine. During the preweaning there were no differences between the groups in any minerals. There was a slight reduction of minerals during the postweaning compared with the preweaning. During the postweaning, the sucrose diet significantly reduced the amount of Ca, P, and total minerals compared with the preweaning. During the postweaning, the sucrose diet reduced Ca compared with glucocorticoid medication and total minerals compared with other groups. On the contrary glucocorticoid medication seemed to compensate the reduction of minerals induced by the sucrose diet.