Abstract
The object of this study was to investigate the influence of tooth absence on the general growth, progression of aging and longevity in mice. Sixty-eight senescence accelerated mice (SAM P-l Ta)were employed in the study. The animals were partitioned into four experimental groups consisting of the control group (pellets food), the upper molar extraction group (pellets food), the lower molar extraction group (pellets food) and the upper and lower extraction group (pellets food). Body weight, food consumption, grading score of senescence, locomotor activity, amiloidosis of the tongue and life span for each group were measured.
No differences among the groups were found in body weight and quantity of food consumption. The grading score of senescence for the tooth absence groups became higher 20 weeks after birth than those of the control group. There were no differences however, among the three tooth absence groups. Locomotive activity, amiloidosis and life span for the tooth absence groups were found to show the same tendency.
From these results, it was suggested that the tooth absence affects the senescence and life span of the SAM mice.
