Saliva: Functions and Benefits for Oral Health – Amm Dental Clinic

Saliva is one of the most neglected factors in your oral and overall health. The normal secretion of saliva is also vital to a healthy mouth, free of cavities, and to proper digestion.

Let’s discuss the functions of saliva, the benefits of healthy saliva, and what to do if you produce too much or too little.

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What is saliva

Saliva, or “spit”, is an extracellular fluid produced by the salivary glands in the mouth. Saliva carries important enzymes that break down food particles, which is the first stage of the digestion process. It also delivers minerals and other nutrients to your teeth that teeth use to remineralize.

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What is saliva made of? Saliva is made up of:

    Water (95% of the composition of saliva)

    Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, and phosphates)

    Mucus

    Enzymes

    Immunoglobulins (IgA, etc.)

    Proteins

    Secretory mucins, lactoferrin, lysozyme, peroxidase, and other antibacterial compounds

    Nitrogenous compounds (urea, ammonia, and others)

 

Healthy saliva is slightly acidic, ranging from about 6-7 pH. This allows saliva to do its job of breaking down food and protecting the mouth from a buildup of bacteria.

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The viscosity (thickness and flow) of your saliva changes based on your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity. This means that when you enter “fight, flight, or freeze” mode, the consistency of your saliva changes.

 

Functions of Saliva

1. Clearing Food Debris

Saliva cleans away food debris in the mouth. When you have good saliva flow, food particles are less likely to collect and ferment on your teeth or other areas of your oral cavity.

2. Tasting

Molecules in food that taste of distinct flavors must first be solubilized, or made more soluble (dissolvable) before you can actually taste your food.

Your saliva interacts with taste buds to unmask the tastes offered by different foods.

3. Beginning the Digestive Process

Chewing and swallowing begin digestion, but they would be useless without saliva.

As you chew, the saliva in your mouth binds food particles together into a “bolus,” a slippery substance that easily enters the esophagus. The enzyme amylase breaks down food particles into simpler compounds, which is the first step to digesting food.

The compounds in saliva also protect your throat and esophagus from what would otherwise irritate or damage their sensitive tissue.

4. Supporting the Oral Microbiome

Your saliva is a key factor in a proper balance of good-to-bad microbes in your mouth.

The macromolecule proteins and mucins in saliva destroy, gather (aggregate), and/or cling to certain kinds of oral bacteria. Mucins, in particular, can stop bacteria from attaching to the surfaces inside your mouth and prevent those bacteria (or fungi) from colonizing in a specific area

These functions help maintain the oral microbiome and preventing pathogens (cavity-causing, or “cariogenic” bacteria) from taking over the mouth.

5. Lubricating the Mouth

Saliva is a seromucous coating, which means it creates a barrier in your mouth between the oral mucosa and anything that enters your mouth. One of the most vital functions of saliva is the lubrication of these surfaces.

By lubricating your mouth, saliva prevents your tongue, gums, cheeks, the floor of your mouth, and the roof of your mouth from being irritated.

Lubrication by saliva protects against:

    Proteolytic and hydrolytic enzymes in plaque (which can break down tooth enamel and lead to enamel erosion and tooth decay)

    Carcinogens from smoking and other chemicals you breathe in

    Dry mouth due to mouth breathing

Saliva is also what allows you to speak via lubrication of the oral mucosa.

6. Buffering Acids

Saliva not only gets rid of food debris that could feed bacteria that cause dental caries (tooth decay), it also buffers acids that can break down tooth enamel.

Compounds that help provide a buffer for teeth include:

    Bicarbonate

    Histidine-rich peptides

    Phosphate

    Urea

    Amphoteric proteins and enzymes

Bicarbonate, in particular, spreads into dental plaque and neutralizes acids. Bicarbonate also creates ammonia, which forms amines — an additional buffer to neutralize acids.

This buffering function of saliva is almost nonexistent when the flow rate of saliva is very low. This is also referred to as “unstimulated saliva”.

A low salivary flow rate leads to the side effects of dry mouth (xerostomia), one of which is an increased risk of cavities.

7. Maintaining Strong Teeth

As part of defending teeth from cavities, saliva helps to maintain the strength of your teeth by supporting remineralization.

Your teeth are remineralized and demineralized all day, every day. Good salivary flow and proper pH (6-7) allows saliva to deliver minerals to your teeth while protecting against acids breaking down enamel.

8. Identifying Systemic Health Issues

Salivary proteins and DNA in your saliva can identify potential disease risk or the presence of existing disease.

Conditions your saliva may predict or diagnose include:

    Oral cancer

    Head and neck cancer

    Viruses, including HIV

    Acne

    Allergies

    Fertility issues and problems conceiving

    Male-pattern baldness

    Chronic stress

    Cardiovascular concerns (high cholesterol and heart palpitations)

    Too-low body temperature

    Sleep disruptions

    Calcium absorption problems

    Premature aging

 

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