Effect of sodium phytate on the chemical and microbial composition of dental plaque in the monkey (Macaca fascicularis).

The incorporation of 1 or 3% sodium phytate in confectioners sugar produced minimal changes in the physical,chemical, and microbial composition of dental plaque in tube-fed monkeys during a two-week period. Only a reduction in yeasts and lactobacilli could be ascribed to the presence of phytate. Other changes were attributable to the transition from conventional feeding to tube-feeding, irrespective of the presence of absence of phytate.