Looking past those pearly white teeth, directly as a picket fence, can sometimes be challenging but with the help of this information on the salivary glands you are going to be one step closer to staying along with the oral hygiene of yours. This’s the last article in a compilation of 4 essential posts on oral anatomy to keep the dental hygiene of yours at its best. Do not forget that preventive screenings with the dental professional of yours will help with early detection and correction of wellness threatening ailments as gum disease, decay, and oral cancer. No article will be complete possibly without the encouragement for smoking as well as tobacco cessation. Use of tobacco products greatly increases the risk of yours for harmful oral disease and cancer not to bring up the cost to your wallet when standard cleanings aren’t enough to keep the residue build-up under control.

This content will discuss stones in the salivary ducts, inflammation of the salivary glands, and viruses that affect our salivary glands. We have 3 (a total of six) salivary glands in the jaws. The parotid glands are the largest of the three followed by the submandibular (below the bottom part of the jaw) and sublingual (under the tongue) glands. The salivary glands are very important for only that, creating saliva. So why do we have saliva? Saliva carries important enzymes needed for the original breakdown of carbs (starches, sugars, etc.) in our mouth. This’s the pioneer chemical breakdown of foods in the mouth of ours. We also mechanically digest our meals with the teeth of ours when chewing.

Issues are able to arise in the salivary glands which could be mistaken for mouth pain or maybe feel as a cavity as a result of the glands close proximity to the teeth as well as jaw bone. Salivary duct stones can form and generally cause pain whenever the mouth waters in response to a familiar smell of the favorite food of yours. This is simply because the glands are trying to secrete saliva, but the saliva is obstructed by the stone producing a lot of back pressure. Nearly all stones are small enough for a patient to pass by themselves, but talk with your doctor or dentist.

In the same way, the salivary glands can become inflamed. Inflammation of the salivary glands can be brought on by a variety of things including, dr drew sutton allergies, infection, obstruction, poor dental hygiene as well as systemic illnesses as diabetes or lupus. In this particular situation, the glands are likely to be extremely painful and tender to touch. Of particular note, inflammation of the parotid salivary gland due to the Mumps virus is prevalent in un-immunized children. In the United States, the Mumps vaccine is on the common schedule of childhood immunizations, however the number of un-immunized kids in the U.S. is rising and more mumps infections are going to be observed.

Regular visits to your dentist are strongly recommended for good dental hygiene and monitoring.