Your oral health and overall well-being are affected by salivary function. To maintain a healthy mouth without cavities and proper digestion, saliva production is essential.
Let’s talk about the functions and benefits of saliva. Also, what to do if your saliva is too high or low.
What is saliva?
The salivary glands of the mouth produce extracellular fluid called saliva, also known as “spit”. Saliva contains important enzymes that help to break down food particles. This is the first stage in the digestion process. Saliva also contains minerals and other nutrients that your teeth need to remineralize.
What is saliva made from? What is saliva made of?
- Water (95% of the composition in saliva)
- Electrolytes (sodium and potassium, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, phosphates, and magnesium)
- Mucus
- Enzymes
- Immunoglobulins (IgA, etc.)
- Proteins
- Lactoferrin and secretory mucins as well as lysozyme and peroxidase are some of the antibacterial compounds.
- Other nitrogenous compounds (urea and ammonia)
Healthy saliva is slightly acidic and can range from 6-7 pH. This allows saliva to function properly and protect the mouth against bacteria buildup.
Your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system activity affects the viscosity of your saliva. Your saliva’s consistency changes when you go into “fight, flight or freeze” mode.
Saliva Functions
1. Clearing food debris
Saliva is responsible for removing food particles from the mouth. Good saliva flow means that food particles will not collect in your mouth or elsewhere in your oral cavity.
2. Tasting
Food molecules that have distinct flavor must be made more soluble or solubilized before they can taste food.
Your saliva interacts to the taste buds to reveal the different tastes of foods.
3. Begin the Digestive Process
Although chewing and swallowing start digestion, they are ineffective without saliva.
Your saliva binds food particles together to form a “bolus” which is a sticky substance that can easily get into your esophagus.
Amylase is a enzyme that breaks down food particles into simpler compounds. This is the first step in digesting food.
Saliva also protects your throat and esophagus against anything that could irritate or cause damage to their sensitive tissue.
Supporting the Oral Microbiome
Your saliva plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy balance of good and bad microbes in the mouth.
Certain types of oral bacteria are destroyed by saliva’s macromolecule proteins and mucins. Mucins can be used to prevent bacteria (or fungi!) from attaching to surfaces in your mouth.
These functions are essential to maintain the oral biome and prevent pathogens (cavity-causing or “cariogenic”) from taking control of the mouth.
Lubricating the Mouth
The seromucous covering of saliva is called saliva. It acts as a barrier between your oral mucosa, and any foreign material that may enter your mouth. These surfaces are lubricated by saliva, which is one of the most important functions of saliva.
Saliva lubricates your mouth and prevents irritation to your tongue, gums or cheeks.
Protects against the effects of saliva
- Hydrolytic and protolytic enzymes in plaque can be used to break down tooth enamel and cause tooth decay.
- Carcinogens in smoking, and other chemicals that you breathe in
- Dry mouth from mouth breathing
The oral mucosa lubricates the saliva, which allows you to speak.
Buffering Acids
The saliva removes food particles that could feed bacteria and cause tooth decay (tooth caries), but it also buffers acids which can damage tooth enamel.
These compounds help to provide a buffer for your teeth:
- Bicarbonate
- Histidine-rich peptides
- Phosphate
- Urea
- Amphoteric proteins, enzymes
Particularly, bicarbonate spreads into oral plaque, neutralizing acids. Bicarbonate can also form ammonia which is an additional buffer to neutralize acids.
When saliva flows at a very low rate, this buffering function is nearly nonexistent. This is also known as “unstimulated saliva”.
Low salivary flow rates can lead to side effects like dry lips (xerostomia), which includes an increased chance of developing cavities.
Keep your teeth strong
Saliva helps maintain your teeth’s strength by supporting remineralization, which is part of protecting teeth against cavities.
Every day, your teeth are being remineralized or demineralized. A good salivary flow and pH of 6-7 allows saliva to deliver minerals to your enamel while protecting it from acid damage.
Recognizing Systemic Health Problems
The presence or risk of disease can be identified by the salivary proteins and DNA.
Your saliva could predict or diagnose the following conditions:
- Oral Cancer
- Neck and head cancer
- Viruses including HIV
- Acne
- Allergies
- Fertility problems and difficulties conceiving
- Male-pattern baldness
- Chronic stress
- Heart palpitations and high cholesterol are two of the cardiovascular issues.
- Too low body temperature
- disturbances
- Problems with calcium absorption
- Premature aging
How your mouth produces saliva
Through cell clusters known as acini, salivary glands secrete and produce saliva. Acini secrete fluid which collects in ducts and optimizes the balance of saliva compounds.
These small ducts are located in the salivary glands. They all flow into larger ducts, and then join together to form a single duct. This is the duct that sends 90% of your spit to your mouth.
Each side of your mouth has major salivary glands.
- Parotid gland (high on your cheek)
- Submandibular gland
- Sublingual gland
A small amount of saliva is produced without any external factors at all. Additional saliva is produced when
- Food can be tasted and chewed
- You smell certain odors
- Take medications that affect saliva
How to maintain healthy saliva
To ensure your saliva is healthy and produces at a high level:
- Keep hydrated. Experts recommend drinking half of your body weight in ounces every day. 75 ounces should be consumed daily if you are 150 lbs. Hydrating foods like celery, watermelon, and other vegetables are also good choices.
- To encourage nasal breathing and prevent mouth breathing, address seasonal and household allergies
- Good oral hygiene includes brushing your teeth flossing and scraping your tongue.
- Chew erythritol and/or xylitol gum, and/or mins. These sugar alcohols can increase your saliva production and can support tooth restoration.
- Try different textures of food. Encourage salivary flow by eating foods that require a lot of chewing.
- Every night, you should use mouth tape . Dry mouth is caused by dryness of the lips.
- Use artificial saliva products such as Biotene Gel to provide moisture for those who can’t make enough saliva. Your dentist might be able to recommend sprays to moisten your mouth in severe cases.
- Do not use traditional mouthwash Most Mouthwash dry out the mouth and damage the oral microbiome.
- Rinse your mouth with diluted baking soda solution several times per day. This can provide a buffer in the mouth and help keep cavities under control.
Is saliva able to cause tooth decay? The theory is that saliva loss can cause tooth damage.
Low saliva flow is likely if you sleep with your mouth closed, suffer from Sjogren’s syndrome or are taking medications that cause dry lips.
Slow saliva flow at night can lead to cavities, and possibly other issues such as gum disease or sensitive teeth .