By: Michael McGee
PROBLEM
When I was younger I had a lot of dental issues. My dentist told me I had many cavities and I was building up plaque on my teeth. He told me to stay away from sugary drinks and acid foods which at that time I consumed a lot of. That got me thinking of what I ate and drank on a daily basis. I wanted to find out which drink stained my teeth the most and which drink stained the deepest?
Hypothesis
My hypothesis for this experiment is that the Kool-Aid Grape drink will stain teeth the most and that Coca-Cola would stain the deepest. The reasoning behind my thinking is as follows. Kool Aid contains high sugar amounts, sodium and artificial coloring which will stain teeth quickly. Coca-Cola will stain the deepest because it contains high sugar amounts, carbonation and chemicals which break down the enamel of teeth.
Procedure
Gather the following materials, 4 Hard Boiled Eggs, 4 see through plastic cups, One can of Coca-Cola. One 16 oz Wawa regular black coffee. One 16 oz Wawa regular black tea and one pouch of Kool Aid Grape Drink.
Lay out the 4 hard boiled eggs on a paper towel. The eggs should be room temperature and dry.
Label 4 plastic cups with the following labels, Coke, Coffee, Tea, Kool- Aid
Fill each cup up with 8 ounces of each fluid.
Note the time
Put one egg in each of the four containers
Wait exactly 24 hours
Take each egg out of its container and observe color change and rate it based on the scale
Repeat for three days
On the fourth day remove each egg from its container observe staining and rank in order of lightest to darkest.
Take each egg and crack its shell.
Observe the inside of the egg and rate any discoloration using scale.
Compare all four eggs and record all observations
Data Table and Graph-
In order to conduct this experiment, I had to find a material to represent my teeth. I decided to use hard boiled eggs. The reason I chose eggs was they have a similar color to our natural shade on teeth. The hard boiled eggs also allowed me to observe which drink could eat through tooth enamel the deepest showing how deep the stain can penetrate through teeth and also show how cavities are formed.
First I gathered all four drinks listed above and poured 6 ounces of each liquid into a clear plastic cup labeled with its contents. Next I placed a room temperature hard boiled egg into each cup and recorded the time. For the next four days I removed the egg from each cup at the same recorded time and observed the eggs. In my data log I noted the egg color on a scale from 0 being not stained at all to 5 representing stained the most. I also took pictures of each egg. After my fourth day observation and notation I cracked the eggs and peeled off the shell and noted if the liquid penetrated through the egg and if any discoloration or staining appeared.
After conducting this experiment I documented that the Kool-Aid Grape drink stained the egg the most, but did not penetrate the shell at all. Coke came in second in staining with a rating of 4, however this drink penetrated through the egg shell leaving discoloration and many spots on the inner egg. Coffee and tea tied for staining with a rating of three but the coffee penetration through the egg shell leaving more discoloration and staining compared to tea. Over all I was correct in my hypothesis stating that the Kool Aid Grape would stain teeth the most, but through this experiment realized that the drink that contained both sugar and acid did the most harm to teeth. If I were to do this experiment again I would use dentures instead of eggshells to demonstrate the effects. In conclusion, all drinks containing sugar and/or acid are bad for your teeth. Stay away from these choices for a whiter, brighter healthier smile.
Abstract- When I was younger I had a lot of dental issues. Each time I visited the dentist I was told I had a cavity and a lot of plaque build up. My dentist told me I had to stop drinking sugary drinks and acid foods. This got me to look at what I drank in a day. The drink I consumed the most was Coke then Kool-Aid grape drink. I sometimes had coffee with my granddad and tea with my mom. I decided to test these four drinks to see which one would stain my teeth the most. I think the Kool-Aid grape will stain the most.The reason why I say this is because of the Kool-Aid grape juice’s high sugar and sodium.
Conclusion
The two questions that I wanted to answer was how much do liquids stain, and how deep they stain. For the staining part of it Kool-Aid grape juice came in first with five out of five in the three days. Coke came in second with a four out of five. Coffee and tea tied for staining with a two out of five. Although Kool-Aid grape juice stained the most, It didn’t stain deep at all. Coke had the most discoloration out of the four drinks. Even though coffee and tea tied in staining coffee significantly had more discoloration than tea. After conducting this experiment Kool-Aid grape juice stained the most, but coke had the most discoloration.