Tooth Decay Lab Report

What is Decay?

What Substances Speed up This Process?

Introduction:

This project looks at investigating decay, and the rate of decay on teeth using different sugary substances to speed this process up. Obtaining human teeth were not as available as cat and dog teeth for this project, so cat and dog teeth, removed by a veterinarian during a routine dental procedure, will be used.

Aim:

To investigate the rate of tooth decay of various sugary substances.

Hypothesis:

That teeth will rot faster in Coke than milk or water. That there will be a slight difference between milk and water substances on decay levels.

Experiment Set-up

1. .Brush all teeth so they all start at the same hygienic stage

2.Weigh all teeth prior to introducing to the

5.When removing teeth every 3 days for weighing, this will be limited to at least 2 minutes to reduce the risk of any chemical reactions from the air when the lid is opened

6.All experimental bottles will be kept in the fridge, to keep temperature constant and not allow the milk to perish, and go all yuck

Insert picture of labelled bottles, substances in bottles eg coke bottle or can, milk container etc, weigh equipment and teeth for evidence of project

Background information:

How much sugar is in Water, Milk and Coke?

Substance Tested

Sugar content (grams per 100 ml served)

Saturated Fat Content (% per 100 ml served)

Tap Water

0

0

Blue Top Milk (Dairy Dale)

5

1

Coke (Coca-cola) Without Caffeine

11

0

What tooth structures are involved in tooth decay?

The destruction of tooth structure associated with decay can lead to the development of holes in the teeth, more commonly referred to as

Stage 1 only indicates a small minor condition which can be fixed, stage 2 is the stage that starts decay. But when they reach stage 3 and this you will notice they start to have major tissue loss and that often exposes the tooth root. Once stage 4 is reached both the root and the crown of the tooth will be decayed, this is very painful for dogs and cats. Stage 5 on the other hand is even worst as only minimal amount of tissue is left and the left of the decayed teeth will now be covered by the gums. As cats and dogs go through these stages they will start bleeding from their mouths and getting