Remineralizaion of teeth

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ilzepi
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Remineralizaion of teeth with tissue salts

Post by ilzepi »

Goodday,
I am a Grade 9 student at Tsumeb Gymnasium in Namibia. Currently I am busy with a study to try and remineralize teeth after i have demineralized it with different drinks (Cola, Apple juice, Energade etc.)
I have finished the first phase of this study. I have tried to remineralize the teeth with common household chemicals - Distilled water (control), Sodium bicarbonate, Magnesium sulphate, Calsium hydroxide and Sodium Fluoride (Zymafluor).
I think it will be interesting to include a Phosphate element to see if it will improve remineralization of the teeth. I am thinking about doing a study to see if the different tissue salts can remineralize the teeth.
Can you please assist me with some questions:
I would like to know if I can dissolve the tissue salts in water? I will have to crush the tissue salt tablets and dissolve it in distilled water. Then keep the teeth in this mixture for a specified time to see I can remineralize it.
Will the tissue salts disassociate in distilled water? I will need to explain the results chemically. Before hand I will need investigate the different chemical reactions, as I will need to explain chemically what happened to the different teeth.
Do you know if a similiar study was done before?
Any help or recommendations will be appreciated.
Thank you
Ané
ilzepi
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 12:30 am
Occupation: Parent

Remineralizaion of teeth

Post by ilzepi »

Goodday,
I have finished my project (over 2 years):
Phase 1: Demineralize teeth with different drinks - Cola, Diet Cola, Apple juice, Sparkling water, Energade, Milk, Water (control).
Phase 2: Remineralize the teeth again with common chemicals - Sodiumbicarbonate, Calciumhydroxide, Magnesiumsulphate, Sodiumfluoride and Distilled water (control).
I would like to do another phase on this project. Could you please assist me?
I can either combine the different chemicals to see if a greater results will be achieved when remineralising teeth? I am afraid the chemistry will get complicated with this option...
I have also thought about adding minerals to for example apple juice and see if I can reduce the demneralizing effect of the apple juice. But I think the minerals can alter the taste of the apple juice?
Please help me?
drstein2022
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Re: Remineralizaion of teeth

Post by drstein2022 »

Hello!

This sounds like a very interesting project! Have you thought about diluting some of your different drinks, such that they are less intense, and seeing how this impacts the rate/degree of demineralization? While this would not affect the taste (other than making it less concentrated) and would not impact the chemistry significantly, seeing how the concentration of these particular drinks impacts mineralization is a pretty low hanging fruit and has very interesting implications! It also provides a middle ground between your control (water) and your results. I'll admit, cola with water sounds pretty gross.

Best of luck. Cool project!
-Rebekah
JacquelineK
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Re: Remineralizaion of teeth with tissue salts

Post by JacquelineK »

Greetings!

Many factors contribute to the solubility of a compound in water. One of the main factors is the compounds bond strength. Take for example the tissue salt Calcarea Fluorica (Calc Fluor). Its' basic chemical formula is CaF2. Fluoride is very electronegative, and thus the bonding forces between Ca2+ and each fluoride anions are very strong, they are tightly held together in the crystal form. A few water molecules do not have enough strength to get in between and dissolve it. However, compounds like CaCl2, CaBr2 have weaker bonds, and thus will readily dissolve in water.

Restoring enamel is a major subject of interest in the science community. Below is a link to PubMed about a study on the recent advancements in tissue re-mineralization. Best of luck!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6749882/
JacquelineK
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Re: Remineralizaion of teeth

Post by JacquelineK »

Greetings,

Expanding on the most recent post. Have you looked into adding baking soda? This is a very common/easy method to lower the acidity of apple juice. However, depending on the amount it can slightly alter the taste, but why kind of apple juice you are using may be more flavorful and thus the baking soda may not have a huge effect. Another idea would be to look into alkalizing drops, or pH drops. These drops are commonly used to make water more alkaline. They may retain the taste of the apple juice, while also raising the pH.

Cheers!
MadelineB
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Re: Remineralizaion of teeth

Post by MadelineB »

Hello Ilzepi, Dr Stein and Jacqueline K,

Since these posts are on the same topic, I've merged them so each of you will see all of the responses.

Best of luck to Ilzepi on this interesting project!

Madeline
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ilzepi
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Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 12:30 am
Occupation: Parent

Effect of Sport & Energy drinks on teeth

Post by ilzepi »

Goodday,
I am a grade 10 student from Namibia.
Currently I am busy with research for my science project. I am planning to test different sport and energy drinks effect on teeth.
I want to compile a questionnare to start my research - each high school student in my school will complete the questionnare. Through this I will be able to see what sports and energy drink is most commonly used by high school students and how regularly they drink it. (for example Powerade, Switch, Red Bull, Monster Energy drink etc.)
I will test the most common drinks on different teeth to see what the effect will be on the different teeth. Most of this drinks pH is very low. I would also like to test Thirsti Isofit - the pH of this sportsdrink is 8 and will show the effect of pH on the teeth for a higher pH.
pH, Osmolarity, sugar content will play a major role in my research and deduction.
I can also compare the mineral content, as well as caffein in the different drinks.
I am worried that my project will be too simple. Can you please advise me?
MadelineB
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Re: Remineralizaion of teeth (effects of sports drinks)

Post by MadelineB »

Hello Ilzepi, Dr Stein and Jacqueline K,

Since Ilzepi's most recent post seems to be closely related to the previous thread, I've merged them so each of you will see the new post from Ilzepi as well as all of the responses.

Best of luck to Ilzepi on this interesting project!

Madeline
Science Buddies Moderator
ilzepi
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 12:30 am
Occupation: Parent

Osmolarity of Sugar free Sport drinks

Post by ilzepi »

Good morning,
I am currently planning to do a project on the effects of different Sport and Energy drinks on teeth. I want to do a part on the different osmolarities of the different drinks. But I struggle with the sugar free drinks. For example:
Energade Blueberry - Isotonic
Energade Zero (strawberry & Cucumber) - Will is be Hipotonic because contains no glucose?
Redbull Original - Hipertonic
Redbull Zero - Will it be hipotonic because it contains no glucose?
The same for Monster & Monster Low Carb?
Please assist me to understand the Osmolarity of the sugar free or low carb drinks?
Thank you
revida_marcos
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Re: Osmolarity of Sugar free Sport drinks

Post by revida_marcos »

When talking about sugar-free or low-carb sports drinks, osmolarity—a term used to describe the concentration of solutes dissolved into liquid—can vary greatly depending on what has been added to their composition.

Because they don't include glucose or sugar, Energade Zero (strawberry & cucumber) and Redbull Zero may have lower osmolarities than their normal counterparts. As hypotonic beverages, they have lower quantities of dissolved chemicals than their usual counterparts, which may be less harmful to health.

Drinks like Monster and Monster Low Carb pose greater difficulties. The components and sweeteners used will determine their osmolarity; beverages prepared with artificial sweeteners may still have an osmolarity level, although it will probably be less than that of conventional drinks.

Always keep in mind that osmolarity alone cannot fully account for the effects of sports drinks on teeth; other factors, such as acidity and exposure length, also play a role in this investigation of the effects of sports drinks on dental health. It is crucial to consider all of the relevant elements before drawing any judgements about how they will affect oral health.
ilzepi
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Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 12:30 am
Occupation: Parent

Re: Osmolarity of Sugar free Sport drinks

Post by ilzepi »

Thank you for your help!
I have taken sugar content, pH and the different electrolytes into consideration.
I am afraid my project is to easy and I am trying to add more interesting research into it.
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