[In vitro studies on the acidifying effect of liquid baby food on dental plaque as compared with breast and cow's milk].

Early caries of the first dentition is generally caused by the misuse of liquid baby food. It was the aim of this study to compare the cariogenic potential of commercial baby foods with that of breast and cow's milk. The cariogenicity was assessed by measuring the decrease in the pH of human plaque material. For this purpose, 140 plaque pH curve graphs were obtained with the aid of the earlier described oral cavity simulator. The acid production observed with the commercial baby foods examined was highly significantly greater than with breast or cow's milk. However, there was no statistically secured difference between the commercial products with different lactose contents. Cow's milk resulted in a lesser decrease in plaque pH than breast milk.