Two Randomized Trials Demonstrate Lactic Acid Supplementation in Pet Food Inhibits Dental Plaque, Calculus, and Tooth Stain in Cats

Abstract

Background: Dental concerns are some of the most common health problems affecting companion animals. A variety of foods, treats, and chews comprising different mechanical and chemical technologies have been investigated as a means of promoting oral health. Here, we investigate the chemical technology, lactic acid added to a commercially available food, for its ability to inhibit dental plaque, calculus, and tooth stain accumulation in cats. Methods: Two separate feeding trials assessed the utility of a nutritionally complete feline maintenance food supplemented with lactic acid to reduce oral substrate accumulation (dental plaque, calculus, and tooth stain) in cats. After a calibration study identified high and low dental plaque formers, 45 cats were randomized to 1 of 2 test groups (food with 1.2% lactic acid supplementation) or control (food without lactic acid supplementation) groups, stratified based on their calibration scores. Data were collected on a monthly basis for 3 months. The second study randomly assigned 24 cats to either the test or control groups for 1 year, with data collected at the 6- and 12-month time points. Results: In the 3-month study, reductions in dental plaque, calculus, and tooth stain accumulations were observed at the 2-month assessment in both test groups compared with control ( P < .05 for test group 2). The 1-year study showed that these reductions in oral substrate accumulation persisted through the 6- and 12-month time points ( P < .05). Conclusions: Taken together, these studies demonstrate that lactic acid supplemented at 1.2% in a feline maintenance food significantly inhibits oral substrate accumulation.

A Semi-Automated Method for Measuring Biofilm Accumulation on the Teeth Using Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence in Dogs and Cats

“…The procedures used in this study demonstrated low intra-and inter-grader variability, and the computer derived coverage calculations correlated well to a human grader. The quantification of oral substrate accumulation using QLF derived images was able to demonstrate the ability of established dental diets 23,43 to inhibit oral substrate accumulation. This study differs from previous studies in a number of ways.…”

“…One group received a commercial brand cat food that was not expected to have dental biofilm prevention activity e (control); 2 groups received the same commercially available cat food supplemented with lactic acid f that has recently demonstrated the ability to reduce oral substrate accumulation (Group 1 or Group 2). 43 Fifteen cats were assigned to each group. At baseline (day 0) and at months 1, 2, and 3, teeth from each cat were imaged using the QLF system while under anesthesia.…”

Dental calculus as a proxy for animal microbiomes

“…There is a multitude of literature devoted to these topics, but they fell into several categories that are worth mentioning briefly. A bulk of the literature is associated with common household pets such as dogs ( Carroll et al, 2020 ; Clarke et al, 2011 ; Quest, 2013 ) and cats ( Bellows et al, 2012 ; Scherl et al, 2019 ) and the effort to combat plaque buildup through treats and chew toy interventions. Other common wild and domesticated animals that have been studied for oral pathologies and calculus deposition include horses ( Earley and Rawlinson, 2013 ), camels ( Eze et al, 2012 ), pandas ( Jin et al, 2012 ), brown bears ( Wenker et al, 1998 ), dolphins ( Loch et al, 2011 ) and captive big cats ( Kapoor et al, 2016 ).…”