Animal analogues for the study of dental and oral diseases.

The usual laboratory animals, such as rats and hamsters, may not fit the criteria for an analogue of human periodontal disease, although they may be useful in the study of dental caries. Rats, hamsters, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits have been the animals of choice in studies relating nutritional deficiencies and excesses to the dental and oral tissues. Gerbils, dogs, cats, horses, cows and fowl are useful in the study of mineralized tissues of teeth and bones. Recently, primate analogues have been developed for the study of periodontal diseaes and dental caries, the two most important dental diseases afflicting man. The use of a wide variety of laboratory animals in basic dental research makes it timely to review some of the guidelines for the selection of specific animals for particular diseases.