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Grades K–2 · Organisms

Why is your mouth wet even when you are not drinking?

Your mouth makes its own useful liquid called saliva, or spit. Small body parts called salivary glands make it. Little tubes carry the saliva from the glands into your mouth.

O90 visual explanationTwo symbolic salivary glands send saliva through ducts into the mouth. The selected job is wet. Saliva moistens food, contains enzymes that begin starch digestion and helps wash and buffer the mouth. The diagram omits many glands and does not show flow rates.Saliva is useful liquid made by glandsSmall tubes called ducts bring it into the mouthGlandGlandMouthWet food is easier to gather and swallowOnly two symbolic glands are drawn.

In the diagramSaliva is useful liquid made by glandsSmall tubes called ducts bring it into the mouthGlandMouthWet food is easier to gather and swallowOnly two symbolic glands are drawn.

Salivary glands send useful liquid through little tubes into the mouth. The two gland shapes stand for a much larger group.

Saliva moistens food. Your tongue can gather the softened pieces together as you chew. Saliva also contains an enzyme, a tiny chemical helper that starts breaking starch in food into smaller pieces. The rest of digestion continues farther along inside your body.

Saliva washes around the teeth and helps limit acid changes in the mouth. It also carries minerals that help protect tooth surfaces. So a wet mouth does several jobs at once. The picture shows only two simplified gland shapes; your mouth has several large glands and many smaller ones.

About this explanation

Starting knowledge: Know your mouth chews and swallows food.

Sources

  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research — Saliva and Salivary Gland Disorders
  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research — Open Wide and Trek Inside: Teacher’s Guide
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