What drinks are the worst for your teeth?
5-5338
5th Grade
Nativity Catholic School
Archdiocese of San Francisco
2024 San Mateo County Office of Education STEM Fair
Abstract
I wanted to discover what drinks have the worst effect on your teeth. Our teeth can turn yellow and stain when we eat or drink certain foods and this can get worse over time. I wanted to know if some of my favorite drinks are bad for my teeth and if they caused staining. I also wanted to know if brushing them is enough to protect them. I experimented with different drinks to help others know which drinks are good and bad for their teeth. I used eggshells to demonstrate and act as the enamel in my experiment.
I think that this experiment will show that sugary and acidic drinks will weaken the eggshells, just like they can erode tooth enamel.
Abstract
The independent variables for my experiment are the different drinks. I used water, 7up, milk, orange juice, coffee, and coke. The dependent variables for my experiment are how stained the eggshells got from each drink. The control variables are the same size and material of cups, same amount of liquid, same amount of time for the eggshells to be in the liquid.
Here is how I conducted my experiment. First, I boiled the eggs until they were hard boiled and left them to cool. I had two sets of eggs. One set of plain eggs and one set of eggs with toothpaste brushed onto them. Next, I put cups out and put a hard boiled egg in each cup. Then, I poured different drinks over the top of each egg until it was covered. Lastly, I waited two days before I checked the results. I was happy with the results.
Abstract
My findings were in line with my hypothesis. As it turned out the clear liquids such as water and 7up did the least amount of staining and damage to the eggs. The darker liquids such as coke and coffee did the most amount of staining and damage to the eggs. The eggs without toothpaste stained noticeably more than the eggs with toothpaste on them. The toothpaste did an amazing job of protecting the eggs from staining. I can safely conclude that clear drinks do less harm to your teeth than darker colored drinks. I can also conclude that toothpaste and brushing your teeth is an effective act in protecting your teeth.
Purpose Statement
I want to discover what drinks have the worst effect on your teeth. Our teeth can turn yellow and stain when we eat or drink certain foods and this can get worse over time. I want to know if some of my favorite drinks are bad for my teeth. I also want to know if brushing them is enough to protect them. I can experiment with different drinks to help others know which drinks are good and bad for their teeth. I will use eggshells to demonstrate and act as the enamel in my experiment.
Hypothesis
I think that the experiment will show that sugary and acidic drinks will weaken the eggshells, just like they can erode tooth enamel.
Experimental Procedures and
Materials
Experimental Procedures and
Materials
Independent Variable: different drinks
Dependent Variable: How stained the eggshell got from each drink
Control Variables: Same size and material of cups, same amount of liquid, same amount of time for the eggshells in the liquid
Experimental Results
Regular | Water | Milk | Coffee | Orange Juice | Coke | 7up |
Observations | The water egg with no toothpaste looks a little dirtier and its not white it's like a cream color | The milk egg with no toothpaste looks shiny | The coffee egg with no toothpaste is stained brown | The orange juice egg with no toothpaste is stained with little drops faintest color of orange | The coke with no toothpaste looks brown and similar to the coffee egg just a little darker | The 7up egg with no toothpaste looks clean and like a regular egg |
Experimental Results
Toothpaste | Water | Milk | Coffee | Orange Juice | Coke | 7up |
Observations | The water egg with toothpaste looks clean and a little bit shiny. | The milk egg with toothpaste looks like the shell didn't come off all the way and it feels like dry paint | The coffee egg with toothpaste is stained brown with little white spots on it | The orange juice with toothpaste looks moldy at the bottom of the egg and at the top of the egg it has little orange dots | The coke egg with toothpaste is stained a faint brown | The 7up egg with toothpaste looks clean but has the texture of dry paint |
Experimental Results
Analysis of Experimental
Results
The eggs with no toothpaste were harmed more than the eggs with toothpaste. The darker colored drinks stained the eggs more than other drinks . For example coke and coffee produce the most staining. Some drinks like water and 7up had less effect on the eggs. The texture on some of the eggs were different like the 7up and Coke eggs felt like dry paint.
Conclusions
My experiment proved that my hypothesis was correct. Some of the eggs changed colors and textures. For example the 7up egg had a chalky texture. The coffee and coke eggs were completely stained brown. I wonder what the results would be if I left the eggs soaking for 2 weeks instead of 2 days. If I were to continue this experiment I would test different drinks, such as lemonade and root beer.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my mom for helping me find an experiment that I was interested in. I would also like to thank my dad for helping me set up my experiment. I also used the internet to research my project which helped me on my slides.
Bibliography and
Sources
All Science Fair Projects. (2004-2023). Tooth Decay Experiment With Eggs.
https://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/project1629.html
Forsyth Teens At Home Science Experiments. (2020, May 21). Tooth Decay Egg Experiment. Forsyth.
https://forsyth.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Egg-tooth-decay-experiment-Grades-1-12.pdf