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Dental and Oral Health Center

Science fair project- teeth and what we drink

01/19/2007

Question:

I have obtained 5 teeth and placed each one in a different liquid. I placed one in milk, one in floridated tap water, one in coke, one in apple juice, and one in coffee. I am going to leave these inside their bottles for two weeks and daily take notes on what has happened to the teeth.

My question is: How much time-wise would you think two weeks straight would be? Of course we don't soak our teeth in what we drink for two weeks straight, but is there a way to say, well "... two weeks would be the average of drinking 1 glass a day for two years" or something like that? Thank you for your time.

Answer:

It's hard to predict 2 weeks of soaking in anything compares to so many years.  It all has to do with number of exposures to the liquid and not how long the teeth are bathed in it.  I would go for the aspect of a certain liquid having the "potential" to cause damage.

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Response by:

Michele P Carr, RDH, MA Michele P Carr, RDH, MA
Associate Professor of Dental Hygiene
Associate Professor of HS Nursing Quality & Research
College of Dentistry
The Ohio State University