Aside from stimulating our taste buds, saliva also plays a crucial role in maintaining our oral health.
The average person produces around 0.5 to 1.5 liters of saliva every day. Most people pay saliva no mind because it’s just a colorless liquid found in our mouth. However, all our favorite meals would be bland or tasteless without saliva to activate our taste buds. Not to mention the difficulty we’d have chewing and swallowing our food.
Saliva is essential for eating and aids in digestion, but does it impact our oral health? Join us today as we look into the role saliva plays in our oral health.
Our adult daughter has cerebral palsy and requires being fully sedated when having anything done. The DAC was such a positive experience. Dr Hoffmann and his staff were kind and did great explaining things. As a mom, I had a lot of questions about how certain things would be done as usually she’s in her chair when getting examined at her local dentist and they had everything under control including transferring from her chair to the dentist chair and keeping her secured in the dentist chair as well as keeping her neck and legs comfortable. Many thanks to them!
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words. We’re grateful for your trust and happy to hear that you had such a positive experience with our team. Our goal is always to provide compassionate, attentive care in a safe and comfortable environment. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
TWENTY YEARS! That is how long our special needs son has been seeing Dr Hoffman and his dedicated team! Our son suffers from an intellectual disability, is non-verbal, and is unable to cooperate for dental cleaning, x-rays, or other routine dental work. He requires general anesthesia. It is such a blessing to avoid a hospital setting just for dental work.
The team is always well staffed, friendly, personable and very professional. Every single year we have been supported by a deeply caring team who are dedicated to patients with a very wide range of disabilities and needs. They have shared useful dental advice and tools (3 sided toothbrushes, blocks to hold open their mouth for daily at-home care, etc.) which improved our son’s daily dental care. We always receive a call back the day after to check his recovery-even on weekends!
Highly recommended and so appreciative to have this team supporting our ever long road of raising a special needs son.
Response from the owner:Wow — thank you for sharing such a heartfelt review! We are so grateful for your trust and for allowing our team to be part of your family’s journey over the years. It means so much to us to know that our care and support have made a difference. We truly appreciate your kind words and recommendation!
We've been coming to Dr.Hoffman for twenty years. There's a reason we keep coming back! He's great. His staff is great. He's double boarded as an MD (Anesthesia) and DDS!!! Our son with special needs needs sedation for even a cleaning. You get what you pay for. He's expensive and... we know he's getting the best care!
Response from the owner:Thank you for trusting our team over the years and for your kind words about Dr. Hoffmann and our staff. We truly value your confidence in the care we provide!
Omg!! This place is Amazing! The people who work here are so very nice and understanding. I love this team
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words! We truly appreciate your support and are grateful to have such wonderful patients.
Searching for a new dental clinic is challenging for someone who has
dental anxiety, fear, and traumatic experiences in a dental chair. The staff and doctors at the Dental Anesthesia Center were immediately very welcoming. Dr. Thoms put together a very detailed plan to repair and replace the previous work that I had in the past that was now causing problems. Putting my faith in him was the best thing that I could have done for my situation. I am more than completely satisfied with all of the extensive dental work that I’ve had with Dr.Thoms. I had my fourth sleep dentistry experience yesterday and I’m very happy with my results. I highly recommend this practice and truly want to give them more than five stars! Thank you for giving me back my health and confidence.
Response from the owner:We know it isn’t always easy to find a dental office where you feel at ease, so your words mean the world to us. We’re so glad you feel comfortable with our team and truly appreciate your trust and recommendation!
What Is Saliva?
Saliva is a mixture of proteins, mucus, electrolytes, antibacterial compounds, and minerals with a water base. Saliva is 89% water, and the remaining 2% consists of the substance we’ve just mentioned. Hundreds of salivary glands in the mouth, tongue, nose, and lips produce saliva.
Salivary glands break down into two types, minor and major salivary glands. The latter handles the bulk of the saliva load, producing up to 90% of your saliva.
The Function of Saliva
Aside from stimulating our taste buds, saliva also plays a crucial role in maintaining our oral health. Some functions of saliva include:
– Cleanses the Mouth
Saliva helps keep the mouth clean by washing away food debris left after eating. It also does the same for dead epithelial cells and foreign substances. Saliva also contains an antibacterial substance known as lysozyme. This helps eliminate certain bacteria that would otherwise be detrimental to the body. This includes bacteria that cause dental carries and even fever-causing bacteria.
– Protects Oral Tissues
Saliva plays the crucial role of protecting oral and peri-oral tissues found in the mouth. They do this by acting as a buffer that shields the tissue from acid that bacteria produce. It also lubricates food in the mouth to prevent it from scaring oral tissues and allowing easy digestion.
Aside from the above, some other functions of saliva include:
- Diluting sugar found in drinks and food
- Repairing damaged oral tissue
- Reconstructing enamel with phosphates and calcium
These are some of the protection roles that saliva plays. Conversely, inadequate saliva production could spell trouble for your oral health. That’s why oral conditions like dry mouth are nothing to smile about, literally.
The Link Between Saliva and Dental Caries
PH imbalance in the mouth is the primary cause of demineralization of the teeth, leading to dental caries. Bacteria in the mouth produce acid every time they consume sugar and other fermentable carbs. The acid lowers PH in the mouth and leads to the demineralization of teeth, hence dental caries.
Saliva bicarbonate in the saliva helps neutralize the acid to prevent teeth demineralization. Thus, it stands on the frontline in the battle against cavities.
Saliva Protects Your Teeth
Saliva plays a crucial role in protecting your teeth, but saliva alone isn’t enough. It would be best if you embraced proper oral habits to keep dental issues at bay. Contact The Dental Anesthesia Center today in case of any cavities or other dental problems. We’ll help you sort it out.
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