BONE-MAKING VITAMIN.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19889, 28 March 1930, Page 21

BONE-MAKING VITAMIN.

RIGHT FOOD FOR GOOD TJBETH.

WOMAN SCIENTIST'S RESEARCHES.

(rXOil OUZ OWK COSB*SPOKB*HT.) LONDON; February 13. ; Professor E. Mellanby discovered that rickets were caused by the absence of Vitamin D, which has a tremendous influence on bone ■ production. .Mrs Mellanby has made a remarkable discovery which may prove to be a? decisive factor in the conquest of diseases arising from bad teeth. In a long series of patient experiments, extending over eleven years, she has established the .following principles: , ' Good teeth depend on the presence; in sufficient quantities and at the right time, of Vitamin D in the : diet. • By means of apparently smiall changes in diet any degree of tion in the. teeth, jaws, and related tissues can ultimately be produced at will. , ' Perfect teeth and jaws may be deliberately produced iix man, especially by suitable diets during the period of their development; and when the teeth are grown they can be made more able to resist infection by a similar diet. , Mrs researches on "Diet and the Teeth" fall into three sections, t" first of which, dealing with her- experiments on dogs, is published by the Medical, Eetearcn Council. The second section will describe her experiments on other animals—rata and rabbita—and the third is concerned with human teeth. Her work has been undertaken as a natural development of the researches of her husband.

Problem of Dental Disease. . In spite of all the publicity which, the tooth brush and dentifrices have been given, says Mrs Mellanby," in spite of mouth-washeß, acid, fruits, and food with "so-called tooth-cleansing properties/' dental disease is "so widespread that It is undoubtedly One of the outstanding problems of the day. Some peop a with. . neglected mouths have teeth free from ; caries, whereas others who take great', care, in matters of . oral hygiene, have. extensive caries. The. present investigations," she' continues) "demonstrate that the minute structure of the developing tooth and the reaction of the developed tooth to caries are influenced by the chemical nature of dietetic ingredients which, after being digested and absorbed, are carried in the blood stream to the tissues of the body, .and thus to the teeth."

Experiments on Puppies. In the first section of her' report Mrs Mellanby describes how various -litters of Betriever and Terrier puppies .'were brought up in controlled conditions .of environment and diet, and their- teeth afterwards -subjected to- microscopical and other tests. Whenever the diet was deficient in food containing Vitamin D their teeth and jaws showed degrees of imperfection, and improvement of the diet in this respect caused corresponding improvements in the. condition of the teeth and jaws. ; The problem was one of calcification) and variations ; in the iamount of Vitamin D permitted wide difference* in thi amount of calcium and phosphors re; quired. The basic diet,-to which Vitamin D was added, consisted of cooked

•cereals, separated - milk. powder, -raw lean 'meat,'a little oil -or - fat, * orange juice, brewers' yeast, land salt. . - ; Touching on her investigations of the effect of diet on human teeth, to be fully analysed in Section HI., Jiot published, Mrs Mellanby says: "Chilf dren in ail institution 'were divided into groups and were ied-_on -diets which, while similar in respect of most ingredients, differed as regards • those properties' which had-been found" in animal experiments to play. an- important part: in. the .calcification of ; the teeth aadjaws. Great differences in the rate of. development, and spread ol| caries resulted*" • . -

Yitamin P ranks first importance in calcifying pro ceases. But the foods containing it are lew in number, and, in general, .expensive "Bgg yolk and fish fats,, including codtliver oil,. are itp richest known sources* hut it is also associated with milk, butter, cheese, and ; animal fats (other than lard and bacon, "«fhich. eon-< tain a variable :bnt usually comparatively small quantity), r . • ; "If the experiments described have? any significance for the human subject it would seem likely that the' ordinary diet, especially of the poorer classes, in this country will tend toprodnceim-; perfedt teeth, since Vitamin D is either ab'sentf romor deficient in such articles, of diet as bread, rice-, oatmeal, barley* sugar, fruits, jam, .most vegetables, lean meat of various descriptions, white fish) etc., which fork the bulk of the food eaten." 11 v ? ■