Saliva

Saliva is amazing stuff.

• It bathes the mouth to protect the mouth from infection
• Aids in swallowing
• Aids in taste
• Protect the enamel and the gums from drying out
• Repairs the enamel crystal microscopically
• Aids in digestion
• Buffers the mouth by reducing acidity
• Reduces fungal infections
• Aids in talking
• Lets you know when food is on its way
• Reduces the risk of decay and gum disease
• Reduces bad breath
• Reduces denture sores

Saliva is so necessary that without it we can’t control the decay.

The occurrence of decay increases as well as the aggressiveness of decay. This is seen with patients who have radiotherapy of the head for cancer treatment. The salivary glands are sensitive to the radiation and basically shut down. The diet and oral hygiene have to be extremely good i.e. no sticky sweet food and meticulous cleaning.

In fact without saliva the teeth become chalky and weak and look very white. It’s funny how people want white teeth but this actually means you want defective looking teeth. The colour of the teeth comes from the next layer under the enamel, called the dentine. The enamel is really a crystal that allows the light to bounce around and gives the colour of your teeth a depth and reflectiveness, like a diamond. Chalky teeth lose that lustre and become matt and, pardon the pun, bleached.

Medication and diseases, poor diet, smoking and drug taking also reduce the effectiveness of saliva. It’s important to let the dentist know of changes in medical conditions and habits to prevent, often, catastrophic changes in the mouth. In some people the mouth becomes a lunar landscape with craters everywhere!

Take care of your saliva as life would be awful without it!

Next week: What is Tooth Mousse? Repairing Enamel