SPIT! Fun Facts about Saliva Production!

Spit makes the world go round… not really, but it is very important and provides us with many advantages! More important than you may think, actually. According to WebMD, saliva production helps keep us healthy; it helps us digest our food, keeps our teeth strong, and our mouth comfortable. Having too little of saliva can lead to discomfort and a condition called dry mouth.

What is dry mouth? Read more about it here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-mouth/symptoms-causes/syc-20356048

Saliva is a clear liquid made by glands in the area around your mouth – salivary glands. Our body makes saliva when we chew or suck on a piece of candy to help us digest our food, and we can produce up to 4 pints of saliva a day. That’s a lot of saliva for our bodies to produce, so let’s dive into some more interesting facts about the clear liquid that we are so good at producing.

  1. Healing Wounds: Wounds in the mouth tend to heal faster than others, and this is because saliva contains antibodies that help fight germs. Along with those antibodies, saliva also contains substances that encourage blood clotting and cell regrowth.
  2. Nervous Dry-Mouth: Does your mouth get dry when you’re nervous? It’s not a fluke. Saliva production is reduced when you are anxious or nervous – part of our fight or flight response from the nervous system.
  3. Health Tests: Saliva can tell us a lot about our health. It can also be tested to analyze your alcohol intake, drug use, or smoking habits. There are saliva tests that can detect HIV and hepatitis C.
  4. Drooling: Heavy cell phone use (i.e. talking on the phone all day) can increase saliva production and make people drool more.
  5. Saliva Rhythm: Most of our saliva is produced in the afternoon. Our bodies get into a rhythm of creating certain amounts of saliva throughout the day and night because our saliva creation (salivation) is controlled by the nervous system and it’s an unconscious process. We produce the least amount of saliva during the night – which, makes sense because we tend to eat less during the night.
  6. Tasty Spit: Spit is what allows us to fully taste our food, surprisingly enough. Saliva carries our food to the taste buds so we can recognize, and enjoy, what we are eating.

Who knew that spit could help us prevent cavities, test our health, taste our food, heal our mouth sores, and more? While we may often not think about our bodies creating saliva, it’s fun to find out the many positive aspects of such an unconscious, normal process that happens to us every day.

More about the positives of saliva: https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/s/saliva

Questions About Your Saliva Production?

If you’re concerned about your saliva production; producing too little or too much saliva, give us a call at Premier Dental to discuss your concerns. We’d love to determine if your saliva production is normal, and help you find a solution to any discomfort you may be experiencing.

 

Dr. Stephan Caye and his friendly, experienced team at Premier Dental offer affordable family dentistry and gentle dental care in the Lee’s Summit, MO area. Our office is conveniently located off of Highway 50 and SE Blue Parkway. We offer appointment times Monday through Friday to meet your needs. At Premier Dental, we provide most dental health services, from family and general dentistry to specialty procedures, including dental implants, dentures, endodontic or root canal treatment, teeth whitening, cosmetic dentistry, emergency dental care and much more. We accept most dental insurance plans and offer affordable financial solutions for any budget. Please call us at (816) 600-6330 to schedule an appointment.