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Dental Hygiene

Egg shells and teeth

10/11/2007

Question:

This is for a science fair project. We put baby teeth into different liquids - Coke, Diet Coke, Apple Juice, Gatorade, Sierra Mist, Milk. 1 tooth per glass for a 24 hour period. We weighed each tooth to 1000th of a gram before and after to determine decay. We performed this same experiment with egg shells. Now that we have the results. We were wondering what is the reason teeth and egg shells are similar?

Answer:

I'm not 100% sure, but I think there may be enamel in egg shells.  Egg shells pick up staining similar to teeth. 

Just a note regarding your experiment on decay.  You need bacteria along with the sugar and acid in the drinks you chose.  Since you are using baby teeth, bacteria is not part of the equation.  If you are finding a difference in weight, it is most likely due to erosion of the tooth due to the acidity of the liquid it is bathing in.

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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