More Dental Experiments For Kids

Here are 3 more dental experiments to do with your kids. (If you missed the first post with experiments, check it out here.) These dental experiments are a great way to continue education throughout the summer.

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.

What you’ll need:

Shallow container
Carbonated cola beverage
Pennies (the dirtier the better)

What to do:

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 to learn: 

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 are eating a lot of sugary foods, these acid attacks occur more frequently, resulting in cavities. 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 is a cost effective and simple approach for use as daily toothpaste.

What you’ll need:

Baking soda
Salt
Glycerin (found in the first aid aisle)
Flavoring (peppermint or strawberry suggested)

What to do:  

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’ll need:

Cotton swabs
Tonic water (bitter)
Lemon juice (sour)
Salt water

What to do:

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.

Looking for more dental health games & activities? Check these out!