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 THE MOUTH 

FUNCTION & STRUCTURE

  • The mouth functions to receive food and then chews, moistens and digests the scratch within it. This is also where digestion begins. 

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STRUCTURE:

  • The mouth is made up of two palates 

    • The anterior (front) hard palate and the posterior (back) soft palate also known as muscle tissue

      • The uvula (the piece of muscle that hangs at the back of your mouth), tonsils & the sides of the throat are all a part of the soft palate

  • Hunger occurs due to the combinated sneations of smelling and tasting food a swell. 

  • The scent (olfactory) receptors in our nose and the receptors known as taste buds on our tongues function to remind you that you are hungry. 

The Teeth

  • The teeth function to chew food into smaller pieces so it can be swallowed easily. It aids in the physical digestion of food. 

  • A normal grown adult has 32 teeth

    • 8 INCISORS for biting, 4 CANINES for feeding, 8 FLAT PREMOLARS for grinding & 12 MOLARS for crushing food.

  • Each tooth is also surrounded by a tough hard layer of ENAMEL (made up of calcium salts), DENTINE (thicker brown-bone-like material), and PULP (the inner layer of nerves and blood vessels inside the tooth).

  • Cavities, actually known as "caries", are caused by bacteria feeding on sugars and producing acids that corrode the tooth's enamel layers

  • "Plaque" is actually the living and dead bodies of millions of bacteria on your teeth

    • Fluoride however is used to make the tooth's enamel layer stronger so it does not decay as easily due to bacteria. ​

    • Gum disease known as Gingivitis (inflammation of gums) is the most common type of disease

      • It can spread to the PERIODONTAL MEMBRANE (membrane that lines the tooth socket) and can cause bone loss to occur in the socket which results in the loosening of teeth (Periodontitis).

Chewing & Swallowing

Functions of Saliva

THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF SALIVARY GLANDS:​​

  1. PAROTID GLANDS (located below the two ears)

  2. SUBLINGUAL GLAND (located below the tongue)

  3. SUBMANDIBULAR GLAND (located under the mandible, known as the lower jaw)

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  • When you chew food you moisten it with saliva

    • Saliva contains water, mucus and an enzyme called salivary amylase ​

      • Salivary Amylase is a hydrolytic enzyme that breaks down starch into its monomer maltose​ through chemical digestion

  • Once food has been chewed ​it is called the BOLUS

  • The bolus is then swallowed and passes through the back of you mouth and into the esophagus 

    • The back of the mouth is called the PHARYNX which is a region between the mouth and the esophagus where swallowing occurs. 

Why the Bolus doesn't go down your airpipe.

  • When you swallow (reflex action) you cannot breath. This is because our airpipe becomes blocked to prevent food or the bolus from traveling into our lungs.

  1. SOFT PALATE moves back to cover our nose opening

  2. TRACHEA (windpipe) moves under a flap of tissue called the EPIGLOTTIS and blocks the windpipe

    • If food does go down the trachea is it coughed back up​

  3. The opening to the LARYNX (voicebox) also called the GLOTTIS is also covered by the epiglottis tissue flap as well. 

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