As part of the topic ‘Teeth’, Year 5 has been investigating which drinks are best to keep teeth healthy. Science teacher Mrs Sullivan runs us through their findings.
“We set up six beakers, put a different ‘drink’ in each one, then added a whole fresh egg,” she says. “Egg shells are made of calcium, the same material that gives strength to tooth enamel.”
Eggs were left for one week then taken out of the liquid to determine what effect it had on the egg shell.
“The results were very surprising!” says Mrs Sullivan. The children were amazed that the orange juice, which they thought was " healthy" had damaged the egg shells so much. This is because orange juice has citric acid in it and this acid attacks the calcium”.
Pupils thought the blackcurrant drink made the egg look like a dinosaur egg - as well as damaging the shell, it also stained it a dark colour.
“The vinegar results caused the most excitement as the acid in the vinegar completed dissolved the egg shell, leaving a squidgy, rubbery shell-less egg!” explains Mrs Sullivan. This comes with a bit of a warning - many Year 5 children wanted to try this one at home over half term, so apologies mums and dads!
So enjoy a sweet drink once in a while as a treat, to look after your teeth, and avoid drinking vinegar”, surmises Mrs Sullivan.
“But perhaps a little on your chips is ok…”
To find out more about our curriculum at Ranby House, or to pay us a visit, click here.