Bacteria Research

by Christie

My topic is bacteria. I chose this topic because in class we were learning about bacteria. Bacteria are germs. I am very interested in tooth bacteria. Bacteria are good and bad. I have been looking (testing) for bad tooth bacteria.

My question has to do with teeth, toothpaste, and tooth bacteria. My question was, when comparing toothpastes which leave the least bacteria? I thought of that question by brushing my teeth. I was brushing my teeth while I was wondering about my question.

Bacteria in the mouth cause tooth decay. Babies' tooth decay mostly starts by drinking a bottle too long. If it isn't that than it might be drinking a lot of fruit juice or sweetened liquids. Bacteria grow and make acids which attack the teeth.

Adults can get tooth decay easily too. Adults can be drinking a lot of soda or even fruit juice. Adults can get tooth decay also by not brushing their teeth daily.

I had to do my research step by step. The first thing I had to do was write down all the materials I was going to use. The materials I used were five agar plates (one for when I didn't brush my teeth at all, one when I brushed with plain water, and three when I brushed with toothpaste). I used Crest for brushing one day, Colgate for another day, and then I used Dental Care for the next. The first thing I did was to take a culture of my teeth without brushing. That was my control. I took cultures after brushing with water, Dental Care, Colgate, and Crest on different days. I tried to compare the bacteria on the plates.

I discovered that toothpaste helps a little. When I didn't brush my teeth at all there was less bacteria than when I did brush my teeth. I was beginning to think that toothpaste doesn't help. (I have some sketches of ray results at the end of the article.)

Future students might want to try and answer the same question as me. You could use the same materials, or you could use different toothpastes. Maybe you could do it in a group and compare. I was the only person who did bacteria so I couldn't compare with other people. I also wanted to know if, when comparing mouth washes, which leaves the least bacteria in the mouth. A future student might want to answer that question.

Bibliography

American Dental Association website. www.ada.org.