| Abstract: |
Previous studies have shown a correlation between the
susceptibility of hens teeth to deformation and their premature
loss. To determine whether fluoride would ameliorate these
conditions, we measured the effects of various dietary fluoride
levels on deformation and loss of teeth. Fifty Rock Island Yellow
chicks were divided into 5 groups, with one group randomly
designated as control. All groups were fed a low-fluoride diet (3
ppm F), but NaF was added to the diets of the four experimental
groups to give F concs. of 10, 40, 70 and 100 ppm. Incisor teeth, if
still present, were extracted in the established pecking order under
local anesthesia at 100 days. Deformation was measured in an
Enns-Howse Deformator. The findings were exactly contrary to those
of Beak et al. (J Rare Tooth Res 1:15-21, 1978) on young
turkeys, in that a significant negative correlation was found
between deformation and fluoride intake (r = -0.96, p<0.01). Mean
deformation (in mm/in the control group
was 21.06 +/82 (s.d.) and fell to 11.32 +/61 at the highest fluoride
intake. Whereas all control hens became edentulous, those
receiving>=70 ppm F retained their normal complement of teeth.
This difference was significant (p<0.001) as tested by ANOVA
hence, we conclude that the addition of suitable amounts of fluoride
to the diet of hens would do much to alleviate the chronic scarcity
of their teeth. |
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