Effectiveness of Electric Toothbrushes to Manual Toothbrushes

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The objective of this experiment is to compare the effectiveness of electric toothbrushes to manual toothbrushes in removing microorganisms from the mouth. This will be shown by the amount of microorganisms that is removed from the mouth and present on the bristles of the brush.

Hypothesis: Electric toothbrushes remove more plaque and microorganisms from the mouth than manual toothbrushes.

Materials:

• 2 Electric Toothbrushes (Wal-Mart brand)

• 2 Manual Toothbrushes (Wal-Mart brand)

• Crest Pro-Health Whitening Toothpaste

• Food (Lasagna was used for this experiment)

• Timer

• 40 cotton swabs

• 40 plastic bags

• 20 Trypticase Soy Agar (TSA) plates

• Bunsen Burner

• Gloves

• Lab Goggles

• Permanent Marker

Procedure:

1) Designate two people to use electric toothbrushes and two people to use manual toothbrushes for the duration of the experiment.

2) Label the plastic bags as electric toothbrush trials or manual toothbrush trials.

3) Eat a bite of food and set the timer for 2 minutes

4) Brush teeth for 1 minute with designated toothbrush and Crest Pro-Health Whitening Toothpaste.

5) Take a cotton swab and swab the bristles of the toothbrush.

6) Place the cotton swab in the proper plastic bag. Each subsequent trial should be placed in its own individual bag.

7) Eat another bite of food and wait for another two minutes.

8) Repeat step 3-7 making sure to keep 2 minutes in between every 1 minute of brushing.

9) Repeat 10 times to have a total of 20 trials for electric toothbrushes and 20 for manual toothbrushes.

10) Obtain 20 Trypticase Soy Agar (TSA) plates.

11) Divide the TSA plates down the middle with a permanent marker and label one side “Electric Toothbrush” and the opposite side “Manual ...

... middle of paper ...

...al and electric toothbrushes.

Bibliography:

Hatfield , Heather , and Alfred D. Wyatt . "Electric Toothbrushes: Are They for You?." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .

MathIsFun. "Percentage Change." Percentage Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. .

Trochim, William M.K. "Descriptive Statistics." Descriptive Statistics. Web Center for Social Reseach Methods, 20 Oct. 2006. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .

Woudstra, Wendy J. . "Oral Health Buzz." Oral Bacteria: What Lives In Your Mouth?. Colgate-Palmolive Company, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. .

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