Its summer and an ice-cold drink sure hits the spot! What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Maybe its lemonade, apple juice, soda, or a sports drink. I bet one of those could be found in everyone’s fridge about now. Which drink do you think is the favorite for your teeth?
Teeth like drinks with low sugar and that aren’t very acidic. I bet you can think of the one drink that fits that description best: WATER! It is so easy to find and very affordable! Your teeth will love it, I promise!
Okay, I know that sometimes you want something to drink other than water, so let’s have some fun while we consider our drink choices, shall we? Here is a little experiment you can do at home:
Take four hard boiled eggs. Place one egg each in a cup of these drinks: a brown soda, a brightly colored sports drink, apple juice, and milk. Let the eggs soak for an hour and take a look. Do they look different? Check them every few hours until you see a real color difference – it may take six hours. Which egg looks the cleanest? Which is the dirtiest?
Your teeth are like the eggs because they can be softened and stained by the things you eat and drink. The more acidic the drink, the more damage can be done to your teeth. Besides stains, your teeth have enamel that is weakened by acids, making cavities more likely. Which drink do you think is the worst for your teeth’s enamel? After you guess, take a look at this chart: http://drinksdestroyteeth.org/?p=129
Now for the best part! Take an old toothbrush and try to clean the eggs! Which was the easiest to clean?
The egg experiment didn’t consider how much sugar is in each drink, which is really important. If you want to get a really clear comparison, look at the nutritional information on each drink. Figure out how much sugar is in each 8 oz cup of the drink (ask an adult if you need help doing the math). Measure that amount of sugar into four bowls and line them up to see which drink has the most sugar. Can you imagine eating that much sugar all at once? Do you think that’s good for your teeth?
Well, which drink do you want now?
If you need more to think about, check out this website full of fun activities:

http://www.deltadentalnj.com/kidsclub/kids_experiments.html

Special thanks to our blog writer, Susan Akers!