Sugary Drink Egg-xperiment!

Explore how sugary drinks affect teeth

TOPIC OF DISCUSSION: ACIDS AND BASES

What are acids/bases and how do they impact our teeth? What are the kinds of food we eat that can affect our teeth?

LIFE APPLICATION: Caring for your teeth!

RESEARCH QUESTION: Can sugary or acidic beverages really weaken teeth?

Materials:

1. Soft drinks

2. Gatorade

3. Artificial Juice

4. Vinegar

5. Water

6. Milk 

7. Clear cups or glasses (one for each drink) with cover

8. Hard-boiled eggs 

9. Extra toothbrush

10. Toothpaste

11.  Sharpie + masking tape

Procedure: 

1. Label each cup with the liquid and carefully add a hard-boiled egg to each cup. Optional: include a cup and put some toothpaste on a small area or whole egg before soaking.

2. Pour 1 cup of each type of drink into its own cup. Make sure to include one cup with water (control). Soak for 48 hours at room temperature or refrigerator.

3. Take out soaked hard-boiled eggs and make observations about its color and texture. Compare each experimental eggshell to the “control” eggshell that was just soaked in water.

4. Can you brush off the stains using a toothbrush?

5. Record your observations and any conclusions you make about how the sweetness or acidity of drinks affect teeth.

Questions:

1. The enamel of your tooth is similar to the egg’s shell. What happened to the egg shells that were soaked in liquids that are sugary? Why?

2. What happened to the egg shells that were soaked in liquids that are acidic? Why?

3. If you used toothpaste what was the effect? Why?

4. Based on what happened to the eggshells in your experiment, which drinks do you think are BEST for your teeth? Why?