Dental Health Science Experiments

You get two sets of teeth during your lifetime. The second set of teeth that comes in during childhood will need to last you for the rest of your life. While teeth are strong, a number of things can damage them. One of the most important things you can do to keep your teeth strong and healthy is to keep them clean. It’s also important to choose healthy foods and drinks, which can help make your teeth stronger. Your dentist can partner with you to keep your smile bright and healthy throughout your life.

Benefits of Dental Health

The sugars in the foods you eat stay in your mouth long after you swallow. As these sugars combine with saliva, they turn into strong acids. If you don’t brush your teeth after you eat, these acids stay in your mouth and they cover your teeth. Over time, acids will break down the enamel that covers your teeth. If this happens, you might get holes in your teeth, known as cavities. Plaque that forms may begin irritating your gums also. Some people develop gum disease called gingivitis, which is caused by an infection. Left untreated, gingivitis could cause you to lose your teeth. Dentists recommend that everyone brush their teeth at least two times each day. When you brush, you should spend at least two minutes brushing all of your teeth to get them clean. Some people place a timer in the bathroom to help them remember to brush for at least two minutes. Flossing is also important to clean between your teeth. Flossing with dental floss is an important part of good gum health because it helps remove the food particles that your toothbrush can’t reach. Don’t forget to brush your tongue, too.

• Taking Care of Your Teeth: Keeping your teeth clean is one of the most important things you can do for dental health.
• Defeat Monster Mouth! (PDF): Monster mouth is a mouth with bacteria and plaque building up on the teeth. Brushing for two minutes twice each day can help keep teeth clean.
• Be Smart About Your Smile: Decisions you make about taking care of your mouth and your teeth can affect you for the rest of your life.

Learn With Experiments

Dental professionals, teachers, and parents often explain how and why you should take care of your teeth. It might help you to understand how important dental care is if you perform experiments. Experiments help you see what can happen in your mouth if you don’t brush your teeth regularly and keep your mouth clean. A common experiment involves placing a hard-boiled egg into a cup of white vinegar to see how acids will harm your teeth. You can also see what sugars will do to your teeth if you don’t brush your teeth after eating foods and drinking beverages.

• Science Experiments: A hard-boiled egg experiment will help you see how fluoride works to protect your teeth.
• Egg in Vinegar: A Dental Health Activity: With an egg and some white vinegar, you can see what acids can do to your teeth if you don’t brush them.
• A Fun Eggsperiment: Perform a fun experiment with an egg to see what you need to do to brush your teeth effectively.
• Dr. Rabbit and the Tooth Defenders (PDF): Go on a scavenger hunt to learn about dental health and taking care of your teeth.
• Brush Two Minutes Twice a Day (PDF): Dentists recommend brushing your teeth for two minutes each time. If you aren’t sure what two minutes feels like, this activity can help you find out.
• Fall for Smiles (PDF): Saving a cut apple in a bag for a couple of days can help you see what decay looks like, much like it might appear on your teeth.
• Open Wide! Fun Science Activities Inside (PDF): This experiment helps you see how the sugar in many drinks can be bad for your teeth.
• Kids’ Dental Classroom Fun (PDF): Soaking an egg in dark cola can show you how staining and plaque happens to teeth.
• Oral Health Education Resource Kit (PDF): Conduct an experiment with chicken bones and white vinegar to see how acids from foods can attack teeth.
• Dental Lesson Plan (PDF): This experiment using yeast, sugar, and water will show you how sugars can cause damage to your teeth.
• Lab Experiments: When combined with saliva, sugars turn to a powerful acid that attacks and damages teeth.