The Effect of Using Corn Cob Ash as an Alternative Teeth Whitening Agent

Gomez, Mark Arlyn King D.

Neric, Carlo M.

Valbuena, Nica Victoria P.

NOTRE DAME OF GREATER MANILA

Madre Ignacia Ave., Grace Park

Caloocan City

January 11, 2018

 INTRODUCTION

I. Background of the Study

The researchers chose this proposed research due to the fact that professional teeth

bleaching will mostly cost too much and some may even find it impractical. There are already a

lot of whitening options to choose from, and the price varies accordingly to the different in-office

treatments, your dentist, and the duration of your treatment. Although, getting your teeth

professionally whitened has its own advantages, such as it does not only produce fastest results

but can also assure long-lasting outcome, the researchers aim to produce a low-cost home treatment

that will offer the same result as if it was professionally done.

According to Ghobrial and Mallo (2010), corn cob ash contains the same properties as

sodium bicarbonate, otherwise known as, baking soda. Since baking soda is widely used as a

whitening agent, an experiment replacing baking soda with corn cob ash was tested and was also

proven to whiten teeth. However, it was not cleared how much of the ash was used to obtain the

result. This drove the researchers to carry out the experiment by themselves. They are to compare

four (4) different amounts of corn cob ash applied to their respective extracted teeth to see which

among them has the best result.

II. Statement of the Study

There are tons of different treatments in getting your teeth whitened. You can either go to

the dentist and get it professionally done or do it by yourself through various home remedies. The

researchers went with the latter and used corn cob ash as an alternative teeth whitening agent. They

focused on knowing which amount of corn cob ash can give the best result without damaging the

enamel.

The research aims to answer the following questions:

 What are the substances found in corn cob ash that help whiten the teeth?

 Why is it important to know the different effects of using corn cob ash as an alternative

whitening agent for our teeth?

 How can you relate corn cob ash to other teeth whitening products?
III. Scope and Delimitation

This study only aims to know the exact amount of corn cob ash to be used in order to obtain

the best result in teeth whitening. The research will only be conducted at Klik Dental Clinic found

at 282, Tullahan Road, Sta. Quiteria Caloocan City. The researchers plan to observe the changes

occurring in the shades of the extracted teeth after applying the different amount of ash per tooth

as the nature of the study. The observation will only take the span of seven (7) days or a week.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter includes the ideas, finished thesis, generalization or conclusions,

methodologies and others. Those that were included in this chapter helps in familiarizing

information that are relevant and similar to the present study.

Foreign Literature

According to Ms. Jenny Green of Colgate, there are various causes as to why yellow stains

in the teeth produce. First, the thin tooth enamel that makes the tooth look yellow. Thick enamel

looks white but the thin enamel allows detin tones to show through making teeth look yellow from

the outside. Second, the acids from what we eat and drink like candies and soda. Also according

to Ms. Carole Palmer (head of the division of nutrition and oral health promotion at Tufts

University), chewable vitamin c tablets are acidic, thus affecting the teeth’s original shade.

According to T. Pennington (2015), some of the foods and drinks that we are consuming

have tannins and this activated charcoal help us to remove those tannins from our teeth through a

stage called absorption. The porous surface of the activated charcoal become magnetize and holds

it in its position which it leaves the area clean. Activated charcoal does not affect the enamel or

calcium of our teeth. This process is like water filtration that does to clean water.

According to American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, when they ask people what they

want to improve in their smile, people answer is to whiten their teeth. Many people try natural

ways on how to whiten their teeth, some uses DIY whitening. They try fruits, oils, baking soda,

charcoal and other ingredients that can be found in their home especially in the kitchen. They also
said that maybe it can be helpful and effective but can also destroy your tooth enamel which is the

outer coating of your teeth. It depends on how you treat your teeth and on how you take care of it.

Asking for professionals’ advice is the best way.

 METHODOLOGY
Procedure

Gathering of Materials

The materials needed in this study were collected prior the actual experiment. The

researchers got the extracted teeth and hydrogen peroxide from Klik Dental Clinic found at 282,

Tullahan Road, Sta. Quiteria Caloocan City. The corn cobs were gathered at a local market while

the researchers were also able to obtain a 500 ml saline solution from COC Optical Clinic.

Process of Turning Corn Cob into Ash

The corn cobs were put inside an oven where there is no presence of oxygen and an opening

where the gases evaporate for approximately 12 hours. The heat was set to maximum to fasten the

heating process. As soon as the organic source turned black and crusty, it was pulled out of the

oven and was left to get cooled. After some time, the researchers used a scalpel to scrape the ash

off from the cob.

Experimental Method

1. Wash or wet extracted teeth using distilled water.

2. Apply different amounts of corn cob ash per extracted teeth.

 Tooth A: 25% corn cob ash

 Tooth B: 50% corn cob ash

 Tooth C: 75% corn cob ash

 Tooth D: 100% corn cob ash

3. Brush teeth using an unused toothbrush for 3 minutes.

 4. Rinse the teeth using distilled water.

5. Soak the teeth in hydrogen peroxide.

6. Rinse the teeth using distilled water.

The teeth were placed in their labeled containers and the saline solution in all containers

will be replaced daily. This procedure will be carried out in the same way every day for one week

to determine the amount of corn cob ash with best results.

Conceptual Framework