Abstract
The effects of dietary consistency on body weight and the periodontium were studied in rat molars. Four-week-old rats in which the cellular cementum formation of the first molar had begun were divided into two groups and fed either a solid or a powdered diet for 5 weeks until the tooth roots were completed. At 9 weeks the body weight and periodontal morphology of the two groups were statistically analyzed with advancing age. The body weights of the powdered diet group were lower than those of the solid diet group. The periodontal ligament and cellular cementum on the distal surface of the distal root of the first molar was thinner in the powdered-diet group. These results suggest that dietary consistency can affect body weight and periodontal tissues in as little as 5 weeks.
