Enamel hypoplasia and disruption of dentinogenesis are the most common abnormalities of development and mineralization of human teeth. Several reports are available in the literature on the influence of dietary calcium on the formation of human and rodent tooth; however, the information about the influence of dietary phosphorus on the tooth formation is scarce. The aim of the present investigation was to examine the chronic effect of high phosphorus diet and improper dietary calcium to phosphorus ratio on the mandibular incisor microstructure in a hystricomorph rodent--Octodon degu--using macroscopic observation, histopathological examination, transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The present study shows that enamel and dentin development is disturbed under high phosphorus diet and improper calcium to phosphorus ratio. Disturbed mineral metabolism resulted in enamel depigmentation, enamel hypoplasia, enamel pitting and altered dentin morphology. The results suggest that more attention should be focused on dietary phosphorus content when facing altered tooth structure in young patients with deciduous or permanent dentition. Furthermore, we showed that degus can be used as an experimental animal model for the study of the developmental teeth disturbances.
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