Here are 3 more dental experiments to do with your kids. These experiments are a great way to keep fun and education going throughout the summer. Our favorite was the soda experiment, very interesting!

1. Clean a penny with soda (the effects of acid on teeth)

 

Children love to perform this experiment. The acid from the soda eats the dirt away from the penny’s surface, resulting in a clean penny.

 Materials needed:
    - Shallow container
    – Carbonated cola beverage
    – Pennies (the dirtier the better)
 

Instructions: 
Put a dirty penny in a shallow container. Add enough cola to cover the penny. Let the penny sit undisturbed overnight. The next day remove the penny and discuss why it is clean.

What a child learns from this experiment:
Bacteria and germs in your mouth need sugar to make acid. The acid then eats away at your tooth. If you are not cleaning your teeth properly or you eat a lot of sugary foods, you can get these acid attacks more often which will result in a cavity. In this experiment, the soda acids etch and eat at the penny, just as the acids etch and eat away at the tooth’s surface. 

2. Make your own toothpaste

 

Making your own toothpaste is an easy experiment for kids. Adults will find this a cost effective and simple approach for use as daily toothpaste.

Ingredients for homemade toothpaste:
  – Baking soda 
  – Salt 
  – Glycerin (found in the first aid aisle)
  – Flavoring (peppermint or strawberry suggested)

Instructions: Combine 3 tablespoons baking soda, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon glycerin, and a few drops of flavoring. Mix together. Water can be added to get to the desired consistency. Store in an airtight container.

If making a larger batch of homemade toothpaste the ratio is 3 parts baking soda, to 1 part salt, to 1 part glycerin, and flavoring to taste.

3. Tongue taste buds

 

Our food combines with saliva when we eat. This lets the food disperse the flavors across the entire tongue and its taste buds. This experiment will single out the specific areas for each type of taste bud and its flavor.

What you will need:

Cotton swabs

Tonic water (bitter)

Lemon juice (sour)

Salt water

Sugar water

With the cotton swab, apply a small amount of one of the solutions to the area of the tongue that contains its taste buds. Try this with all the different solutions and their correlating areas of the tongue. Use the solutions in other areas of the tongue that do not contain that taste bud as well.

We hope you enjoyed today's article! Remember that StarSmilez offers a wide array of adorable, stuffed animals that are perfect teaching aids for young brushers. Have a look today and join our Facebook Page!