Hello,
My daughter is in 4th grade and wants to do her science fair project on the effects of acid on teeth. (Or color of different drinks) our problem is - what to use ? Is an egg ok? Also what measurable data for our graphs. The color or pics of damage are neat to see but it doesn’t help us with measurable data. What would the science method behind it.
We thought of possibly checking different acids on teeth for ex citric acid or phosphoric acid. Would that be enough?
Checking the ph in the drinks.
Possibly weighing the egg if egg is acceptable. We want to make sure we can get the data or quantify. Or should we go with a different project all together.
Any advice on how to make this project work? Quantify or scientific method?
Possibly diffeeent ideas?
Effects of drinks (acid) on teeth
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chloemkohl
- Student Expert
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:17 am
- Occupation: Student
Re: Effects of drinks (acid) on teeth
Hi! This sounds like a cool experiment!
Using eggshells sounds like a great idea, as they have similar composition to tooth enamel! As for quantifying your data, you should definitely measure the pH levels of each of the liquids you're using in order to compare acidity. It may be difficult to find numerical data for your results, but the decay can be explained qualitatively. A bar graph can be made for qualitative data -- the liquid and pH can be reported on the x-axis, and a scale of increasing decay can be put on the y-axis. I have attached an example below of a graph that demonstrates this concept.
https://www.mouthhealthy.org/-/media/pr ... ADF9A6E04C
Hopefully this is helpful, and let us know if you have any other questions!
Good luck with your experiment,
Chloe
Using eggshells sounds like a great idea, as they have similar composition to tooth enamel! As for quantifying your data, you should definitely measure the pH levels of each of the liquids you're using in order to compare acidity. It may be difficult to find numerical data for your results, but the decay can be explained qualitatively. A bar graph can be made for qualitative data -- the liquid and pH can be reported on the x-axis, and a scale of increasing decay can be put on the y-axis. I have attached an example below of a graph that demonstrates this concept.
https://www.mouthhealthy.org/-/media/pr ... ADF9A6E04C
Hopefully this is helpful, and let us know if you have any other questions!
Good luck with your experiment,
Chloe
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GabrielWalters
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri May 03, 2024 3:03 am
- Occupation: Teacher
Re: Effects of drinks (acid) on teeth
You could also measure the pH levels of different drinks to correlate acidity with potential damage. If you're looking to tie it back to oral health, considering the impact on real teeth might be more impactful. Maybe you could partner with a local dentist, like those specializing in implant dentistry, to provide insights or even samples for experimentation. Exploring different ideas is always a good idea, but this one has real potential. It's hands-on, educational, and directly applicable to everyday life. Best of luck to your daughter with her project! I came across this interesting dental site, https://jeffreygrossdds.com/ , while researching implant dentistry. Might have some useful info for you too!