Effectiveness of Toothpaste Against Beverages
The objective of the experiment was to figure out how well toothpaste protects teeth from common beverages containing sugar and acid. The factors were type of toothpaste, time exposed to toothpaste, and kind of beverage. Eggshells were used to represent teeth in the experiment because their chemical composition is similar to that of teeth.
To accomplish the objective, eggshells were covered in toothpaste, the toothpaste was washed off after a specified amount of time, and then the eggshells were massed. Next the eggshells were submerged in a beverage overnight, rinsed, and then massed. A three-factor Design of Experiment was used to analyze the data. Results from the experiment showed that Crest Kids’ toothpaste caused eggshells to lose less mass than Crest Pro-Health toothpaste, eggshells that were covered in toothpaste for three days lost less mass than eggshells covered for one day, eggshells submerged in Kool-Aid lost more mass than eggshells submerged in Coca-Cola.
From these results, it can be concluded that prolonged use of toothpaste protects teeth from certain beverages, the citric acid in Kool-Aid breaks down the calcium carbonate in eggshells more effectively than the phosphoric acid in Coca-Cola, and Crest Kids’ toothpaste protects teeth from sugary beverages.
Research Done By:
Genevieve Lee
Sterling Heights High School
Shelby Prascius
Warren Mott High School
Warren Consolidated Schools