4 minute read
Salivary Glands • Vol. 20: #28 • (7-7-2024) Tidbits of Coachella Valley
• Taste buds can distinguish between thousands of different tastes, but without saliva, everything would taste like cardboard, and would be hard to swallow.
• There are six salivary glands: two under the tongue (which contribute 70% of the saliva produced), two at the back of the jaw under the chin (10%), and two below the ears (20%). They constantly pour out a steady stream, up to eight cups per day.
• About 99% of saliva is water, with the remaining 1% being a complicated chemical cocktail. It includes enzymes that break down food. These enzymes are so efficient that they are mass produced and added to detergents to dissolve stains in clothing.
• Saliva also contains salt, which draws moisture from the tissues of the mouth and is later reabsorbed. All the water in saliva comes from the blood supply.
• Calcium, fluoride, and phosphate ions in saliva promote the health of teeth.
• A protein called mucin turns into a mucus gel that protects everything inside the mouth.
• Saliva also contains built-in painkillers more potent than morphine.
• There are also anti-bacterial compounds in spit. Researchers tested salvia and found it inhibited the growth of 110 varieties out of the 169 strains of microbes tested. Saliva also contains nutritious proteins that encourage the growth of good bacteria in the mouth.
• Spit also has a protein that promotes healing, along with plenty of white blood cells. This is why sores in the mouth heal so fast, and why animals lick their wounds.
• Saliva maintains the pH of the mouth, keeping the acidity of the mouth within the range required to prevent minerals in the teeth from dissolving.
• When eating, the chewing motion of the jaws keeps the flow of saliva steady.
• The greatest amount of saliva is produced when eating very sour or extra salty foods.
• The body usually produces the most saliva in the late afternoon and the least at night, more when standing up than when lying down, and more when it’s light than when it’s dark.
• Because the body produces less saliva during sleep, it’s easier for bacteria to do their worst at night. This is why dentists recommend brushing before bed, and refrain from eating sweets before going to sleep. Failure to clean your teeth is also why we wake up with “morning breath.”
• Saliva production drops when you are stressed, nervous, or frightened, which is why you get dry mouth when asked to do something nerve-wracking. When the body is under stress, perhaps when attempting to evade a life-threatening situation, the digestive system shuts down entirely so that all energy can be directed to the fight-or-flight response.
• Chewing a piece of gum stimulates the salivary glands, but chewing the end of a pencil does not.
• The act of kissing releases chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin, which collectively encourage bonding.
• When parents pre-chew food for a baby, it transfers helpful immune cells to the child.
• Babies don’t start drooling until they’re 2 to 4 months old, and then they don’t stop drooling until they achieve full control of their mouth muscles around the age of two.
• The word “saliva” comes from the ancient Italian “sal-iwo,” meaning “dirty yellow,” from which we also derive the word “sallow.”
• Your entire genetic blueprint can be extracted from your spit. This is why cigarette butts left behind at a crime scene are valuable evidence.
