In Science, Y4 have been looking at teeth. It’s really important that we look after our teeth because if we don’t, they can decay.
Sugar creates a sticky substance, called plaque, which can build on your teeth and become a home for bacteria. This bacteria can lead to tooth decay. The protective layer of the teeth (the enamel) can wear away.
Certain food or drinks that are high in sugar or acid can damage our teeth and we must have them in moderation. To explore the effects of different liquids on our teeth, we conducted an EGGciting experiment.
We used the following drinks in our experiment:
Coke, vinegar, orange juice and water.
We conducted an observation over time to see the effects of these drinks on our teeth. However, instead of using real teeth for this experiment, we used eggs! An egg shell contains calcium – the same mineral that is found in our enamel (the protective layer on our teeth).
After leaving our eggs for 3 days, we removed them from their liquid and observed the changes.
The effects of these drinks were clear to see!
- The coke stained the eggshell brown.
- The orange juice decayed the outer layer of the egg shell.
- The vinegar caused the egg to grow in size and become bouncy and translucent.
What we can take away from this learning is that sugary or acidic food and drink can be harmful to our enamel. We should always brush our teeth twice a day, visit the dentist regularly and cut down on the amount of sugar we have to protect our teeth.
Help at home: try this experiment again at home but use different liquids to see their effect!