The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-12-24
TOOTH DECAY
IS CONQUERED
BY SCIENTISTS
Dental Carries Prevented for
First Time in History
by Discovery.
SECRET IS IN DIET
Sufficient Phosphorus in
Saliva Is Answer to
Age-0Id Riddle.
copyright. 1881. bv Science servicel

tCOpNrlEnts 1891 DIV SClenC6 oSINlC[l
BALTIMORE, Dec. 24.-For the
first time in history, dental carries,
or tooth decay, actually has been
prevented. This means that the
end of toothacheS and of rotting,
decayed and infected teeth, with
their attendant ills, is in sight. The
method found effective to prevent
tooth decay in animals need only
be applied to human beings.
This achievement, the result of
ten years of work with hundreds of
animals and representing an i'm
measurable boon to mankind, has
been accomplished by DR.. E. V. Nc
Collum, professor of bio-chemiStry at
the Johns J IopkinS school of hygiene,
and his associates, DR.. Henry Klein
and DR.. H. G. Kruse. A prelim-
mary report will appear in the
forthcoming issue of Science.
The complete report will appear
in early issues of the Journal of
Biological Chemistry and the Jour-
nal of the American Dental Asso-
citation.
SallYa quality Important
THE quality of the saliva is the
important thing in determining
whether teeth will decay, and this
is determined by the chemical COM
position of the blood" said Mr.. Nc
Collum.
The saliva, he has found, acts
normally as a buffer solution, so
that acid can not accumulate and
break down the enamel of the
teeth. When this enamel is dam
aged, germs that always are pres
ent in the mouth get a chance at
the the teeth and decay follows.
The saliva, however, can not act
as a buffer solution, keeping the
mouth at just the right state be-
tween acid and Alkaline, unless it
contains certain proportion of
phosphorus.
There must be, in addition to a
proper buffer quality for neutraliz-
ing acid formed by the fermenta-
ton of food residues, a proper call
cium and phosphate concentration
in the saliva in contact with the
enamel to prevent disintegration
of the surface molecules of that
substance.
Comes From Blood
Phosphorus gets into the saliva
from the blood. Blood gets its
phosphorus from the foods eaten,
specifically from such foods as milk,
eggs, lean beef, beans and peas,
which are rich in phosphorus.
Phosphorus is not quite all that
is needed, however. DR.. McCollum
and his associates found that no
matter how much phosphorus is
eaten in food, not enough of it will
get into the blood and then into
the saliva unless certain amount
of both calcium and vitamin D also
are taken into the body.
1t is not possible to, say, eat so
many pounds of this or that food
every day, DR.. McCollum pointed
out. But plenty of the foods that
contain these three substances, and
plenty Of sunshine, to insure an
abundance of vitamin D, will keep
the phosphorus in the saliva up to
the right level ana thus prevent
tooth decay, or dental carries.
Sugar Not Barred
People with sweet tooth" will
be delighted to know that they can
eat sugar and Starches in abund-
ance, according to the Baltimore
investigators, and still prevent their
teeth from decaying, if they keep
the calcium phosphorus level of
their blood right and get plenty of
vitamin D. from sunshine or cod
liver oil or any Of the foods that
now contain it.
Eating excessive amounts of
starch, candy and sugar tends to
crowd out of the diet foods which
are better constituted for the pre-
vention of tooth decay and make
necessary a greater caution as to
having the remainder of the diet
of just the right composition.
Calcium-rich foods are milk, eggs.
watery vegetables, especially spin
ach, lettuce and cabbage-and, to
a lesser extent, fruits. Vitamin D
is the sunshine vitamin, occurring
wherever the ultraviolet rays from
the sun or from artificial light
strike the fat, ergosterol.
Vitamin D occurs naturally in
fish oils, egg yolk, butterfat and
whole milk. It has been put into
certain other foods artificially, since
science has shown that this may be
done by exposing foods containing