As I am currently on a Pre-Dental track, I want to involve myself in more laboratory work involving teeth. I knew I had always wanted to study enamel erosion and was given the opportunity to do so through this program. I will hopefully see the corrosive nature of acid on teeth and overall get more exposed to dental related topics like enamel erosion.

The effect of common food acids on enamel according to pKa values

The overall goal of this research is to examine the dissolution effect on enamel of pH and pKa of common acids found in food products. The varying pKa values of Acetic, Citric, Malic, Tartaric, Carbonic, and Phosphoric Acid will be determined and their effect on hexagonal hydroxyapatite (found in pellets or teeth) measured. This will bring awareness to people about the effects of foods and acids within them on teeth enamel.