Tyrone Li

82-6
9-27-07

The Effect of Different Beverages on Teeth Over Time

I. INTRODUCTION
Many people buy different drinks and food from the store. Many of these drinks contain
sugar and artificial coloring that could stain teeth. Some of these beverages are grape juice, cola,
coffee, and tea.
Eggshells are a good substitute for teeth because they are made out of similar material.
The objective of this experiment is to find out which beverage stains eggshells the most over
time. The experimental variables are coffee, tea, cola, gape juice, and tap water. The dependent
variable is the darkness of the stain on the eggshell compared to the stain chart. The eggshell will
be soaked in the liquid for a predetermined amount of time, and then its shade will be compared
to the Dentist's teeth stain chart. The amount of time that the egg is left in the liquid and the type
of eggshell will always be the same for every part of the experiment.
The color of teeth is not always the same for everyone. The only ways that people can
control their teeth color is to avoid medication that can cause stains, eat or drink less of different
staining drinks or food, to brush their teeth (www.dental-picture-show.com/). Eggshells and teeth
were found to be similar in material. Eggshells are made out of calcium carbonate while teeth are
made out of calcium phosphate(www.madsci.org/).
To find this information, a dictionary was used (Gelb, 148, 112, 123). A way that
different foods or drinks stain teeth are through cracks in the surface of the enamel. They reach
the second layer of the tooth which is the dentine which absorbs the colors of the food, therefore
making the tooth look darker in color. Also, acidic juices and pigmented foods and drinks cause
more stains then others that are not (www.stainexpert.co.uk/). Acid can also cause teeth to
become darker and darker shades of yellow over time while also making the enamel of the tooth
very soft, therefore making the tooth very susceptible to many different teeth problems such as
cavities (today.ninemsn.com.au/).
To find different independent variables, the table of contents for each beverage was used
to determine what beverage to buy. Some ingredients that were searched for were high amounts
of sugar, caffeine, and acid of any kind. If the grape juice is used to soak the egg then the egg
will have the darkest stain because it has acid that would make the eggshell more vulnerable to
stains. A website (www.stainexpert.co.uk/) states that acid softens enamel which can allow the
grape juice to reach the dentine which will then make it permanent.
How different ingredients such as caffeine and acid can affect calcium can be learned
from this experiment. How different beverages affect calcium carbonate can also be learned from
this experiment. A future experiment can be conducted using different foods instead of
beverages. Actual teeth can also be used instead of eggshells.

II. VARIABLES
• Experimental Variable: Coffee, Tea, Cola, Grape Juice, Tap Water
• Dependent Variable: The darkness of the stain on the egg compared to the stain
chart
 • Controlled Variables: Amount of time the egg is left inside the drink, the amount of
liquid used for each egg, compared results to the same Dentist's Scale, same
container, same type of egg.
• Control Run: Using water as the drink for the egg.

III. HYPOTHESIS
If the grape juice is used to soak the egg then the egg will have the darkest stain because
it has acid that would make the eggshell more vulnerable to stains.

IV. MATERIALS
1000 ml Coffee
1000 ml Cola
Cup
16 White Eggshells
Tap Water
1000 ml Tea
1000 ml Grape Juice
Dentist's Teeth Stain Chart
Timer

V. PROCEDURE
1. Pour enough of the drink to cover half of an eggshell into container.
2. Put half of an eggshell into the container.
3. Take eggshell out of liquid after fifteen minutes.
4. Rinse shell and compare it to Dentist's Scale and record results.
5. Place eggshell back into liquid for another forty-five minutes.
6. Rinse and compare eggshell to Dentist's Scale and record results.
7. Place shell back into liquid for an additional one hour.
8. Rinse and compare shell to Dentist's Scale and record results.
9. Place shell back into liquid for another three hours.
10. Rinse and compare to Dentist's Scale and record results.
11. Place shell back into liquid for another six hours.
12. Rinse and compare to Dentist's Scale and record results.
13. Place shell back into liquid for an additional 168 hours
14. Repeat steps number one to thirteen two additional times.
15. Repeat steps number one to fourteen for each beverage.