For parents or teachers looking for a fun, hands on experiment to teach kids about dental health and facilitate discussion about the importance of oral hygiene, here’s a quick and easy idea using eggs!
What you’ll need:
- 2 boiled white eggs
- dark soda
- coffee or tea
- 4 transparent plastic cups
- toothbrush
- toothpaste
Steps:
1. Place one egg in each of the cups and pour the dark liquids over them. Allow the eggs to sit in their liquids for the day, checking them periodically, and then over night.
At the start of the experiment, talk with your children about what they think these liquids will do to the hard white shells of the eggs. Show them how, even after a few minutes, the eggs in the dark liquid becomes discoloured.
2. Throughout the day and the next morning, look at the eggs and discuss how these dark liquids stain the eggs, and how they might do the same to teeth.
3. Show the children how to use the toothbrush and toothpaste to gently clean the egg. This will show them how good oral hygiene can help protect our teeth from damage and even reverse damage.
Have them carefully brush the whole surface of the egg, and emphasize that when brushing their teeth, they need to brush all the surfaces of each tooth to make sure every spot gets cleaned. Ask them to imagine that the brown stains on the eggs are dental plaque that they have to brush away with their toothbrushes!