Saliva isn’t necessarily something you may think of often, but it plays a key role in maintaining good oral health. In fact, saliva flow and the amount of saliva your salivary glands produce are vital for good digestion and a healthy body and mouth.
Let’s examine why saliva is so important, what it consists of, and what you should look out for to maintain good oral health:
Composition Of Saliva
You may not know this, but saliva consists of 99% water and 1% of several varieties of proteins and electrolytes. It is an exocrine solution that is essential to maintaining a healthy mouth.
Saliva is formed from the secretion of various major salivary glands: The submandibular, the parotid, and the sublingual. These three pairs of major salivary glands produce the most saliva, and minor glands, such as the palatine, buccal, lingual, and labial, produce the balance of the saliva.
Saliva production in the mouth prevents gum disease, dry mouth, and tooth decay; a thin layer of saliva covers the teeth and acts as a buffer against bacteria. Saliva also plays a significant role in washing off any food particles you may have in your mouth after eating.
Not Enough Saliva
If your body isn’t producing enough saliva, your mouth can become uncomfortably dry due to poor saliva flow. This condition is also known as xerostomia, commonly called dry mouth.
A dry mouth can result in a swollen tongue, gums, and other tissues, which can be very uncomfortable. This is when germs can thrive, leading to bad breath. A dry mouth also increases the chances of developing rapid tooth decay and gum disease because less saliva flow means less liquid to wash away food particles from your gums and teeth.
Tips To Increase Your Mouth Moisture
Here are three tips to help keep your mouth and salivary glands moist:
- Drink a good amount of water every day
- Chew sugar-free gum
- Suck on sugar-free candy
Too Much Saliva
Producing too much saliva is not serious unless it persists over time. Salivary glands may produce more or less saliva daily, depending on what you eat and drink. Your salivary glands could produce too much saliva if you have issues with swallowing or if one or more of your salivary glands are overactive. Generally, your body will take care of excess saliva by swallowing it.
Tips To Decrease Saliva production
The amount of saliva your body produces will depend on many things from a particular prescription medicine to a recent surgery you had, or even from something like Botox shots.
Conclusion
Saliva neutralizes acids and prevents tooth decay and dry mouth and it also builds your oral tissues and prevents many oral health problems. If you feel like you have a salivary gland dysfunction or are worried about other oral issues, visiting oral health experts in Winnipeg is a good idea. They can help you analyze your unique situation and advise on how to best move forward with your oral health routine.