The Role Of Saliva In Oral Health

Why staying hydrated and maintaining a moist mouth is good news for your teeth and gums.

Saliva isn’t something that gets talked about very often these days,  and is often associated with unpleasant habits such as spitting. The general response if you mention it is a face pull or a “gross” comment, but saliva plays an incredibly important role in our oral health as we will see in today’s Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic blog.

Saliva is made up of around 99% water but it also contains other important ingredients including minerals, proteins and electrolytes. In an average person, around a litre is produced a day. If you live to be 80, on this basis, that works out at just under thirty thousand litres or approximately 325 bathtubs full!

Saliva also helps us to taste our food and to digest it, starting the digestion process as we chew our food before swallowing it. It is a fascinating subject in itself, but let us look now at how, specifically, it helps us to have healthy teeth and gums.

Nature’s cleaning system

Saliva plays an important role in keeping our mouth healthy. A healthy flow of saliva washes away not only small pieces of food debris but also potentially harmful bacteria as well. This is important as it helps to prevent tooth decay and tooth threatening gum disease. On its own, it isn’t sufficient however,  and regular daily brushing and flossing is necessary but it especially plays an important role for the times between these cleaning sessions.

Acid neutralisation

Most of us eat at least some foods that are very acidic. Whether that be citrus fruits such as oranges, or indeed, any meal that contains tomatoes. This acidity can be harmful to the enamel on our teeth. Many people worsen this situation through the frequent consumption of fizzy sugary drinks, and especially ‘high energy’ drinks that can cause serious damage to our teeth over time. While saliva won’t resolve everything, and reducing acidic food and drinks in our diet is the best approach, it will help to reduce the acidity in our mouths and help to protect our teeth.

Remineralisation

It isn’t that well known by a lot of people, but when we eat food of any sort, the enamel on our teeth softens just a little bit. Some people make the mistake of brushing immediately after eating but this can cause more wear, and waiting for at least half an hour is advised before brushing. As the enamel on our teeth gradually hardens again after eating, it utilises minerals that are found in our saliva to do that. A dry mouth then, will slow this process down and will leave our teeth less well protected.

Healing properties

Many of you will have heard the saying about ‘licking your wounds’. While this is often used in an emotional sense, saliva does have healing properties, not only cleaning wounds of any dirt and bacteria in a cut or scratch, but supplying good bacteria to start the healing process. This is especially important following a dental procedure such as a tooth extraction and a good flow of bacteria will help the extraction site heal that much quicker and with less risk of infection than someone with a dry mouth.

Improving saliva flow

As you can see, our Canterbury patients will benefit from avoiding a dry mouth, but what can cause this?  There can be a number of factors, with general dehydration being a key one. You should make sure to drink plenty of water through the day, avoiding, or at least minimising, your consumption of tooth damaging fizzy drinks. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can also cause a dry mouth as can some medications. If you generally live a healthy lifestyle and are finding that you often have a dry mouth, it is best to discuss this with your GP who may be able to help.

It is especially important if you are a dry mouth sufferer, to see the dental hygienist at Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic to monitor your gum health. Periodontitis especially, can cause a loss of teeth and your mouth should be monitored regularly.

If you would like more information on this topic, or to book an appointment with the dentist or hygienist at our long-established Canterbury dental practice, please do give us a call on 01227 463529.