Why Is Saliva Important?

Saliva is naturally produced by our bodies. It is secreted into our mouths and helps with digestion, chewing, and swallowing. Without saliva, our lives wouldn’t be the same! Here’s how saliva helps maintain our oral hygiene and teeth :

1. Digestion

Chewing and swallowing are critical to digestion, which is not possible without saliva. During the process of chewing, saliva acts as a binding component and turns the food into a slippery substance, allowing it to slide down your esophagus easily.

To make the digestion process easier, amylase is an enzyme found in your saliva that breaks down food into simpler compounds that are further broken down by your intestine and stomach. Without saliva, the food would be too dry to chew and swallow.

2. Tasting

When eating food, some taste molecules need to be more dissolvable (soluble) before you can taste them. This is where saliva comes in. It dissolves some of the taste molecules and functions as an enzyme in helping them react with your taste buds.

3. Cleaning

One of the most important roles that saliva plays is cleaning food debris from your mouth. Saliva washes out food bits from your teeth and other parts of your oral activity.

4. Lubrication

One of the most vital functionalities of saliva is to create a barrier between your mouth and the harmful bacteria (microbe). By constantly lubricating the floor of your mouth, cheeks, gums, and tongue, saliva prevents irritation between these microbes. Additionally, saliva also protects your mouth from:

• Dry mouth
• Carcinogen substance from cigarettes
• Enzymes in plaque

5. Keeps Your Teeth Stronger

Remineralization and neutralization of the harmful acids and bacteria ensure that you have strong and healthy teeth. Throughout the day, a good flow of saliva keeps your teeth mineralized.

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