10 facts about saliva Saliva is the clear liquid which presents naturally in our mouth. It is produced by pairs of salivary glands distributed throughout intra oral soft tissue . It acts as a lubricant with several functions. There are some facts you may or may not know about this amazing material, let's collect some of them. 1- Saliva can help your body to grow. It is the main reason why we can taste, chew, swallow different types of food. This occurs when saliva dissolve food particles facilitating its swallowing and digestion then our bodies can benefit easily from what we eat. 2- Diabetes could be diagnosed from saliva. Analysis of simple saliva sample could indicate high blood glucose level before blood test can do. 3- Saliva accelerates intra oral wound healing. Intra oral wounds can heal faster than skin wounds due to the presence of saliva which contains many components and antibacterial enzymes which accelerate healing. 4- Saliva quantity is affected by emotions. For example when someone is nervous or afraid saliva flow decreases. 5- Saliva can repair decayed teeth early. At the beginning of caries formation on tooth surface, enamel surface lose lots of minerals, due to the effect of acids produced by bacteria, these minerals could be compensated by saliva minerals causing tooth self repair. 6- DNA could be recognized from a saliva sample. A simple sample of saliva can tell you all DNA information related to someone. DNA derived from saliva test is cheaper than that derived from blood sample test. 7- Saliva can prevent halitosis. Saliva production from salivary glands makes mouth moist most of time which prevents bad breath caused by lack of saliva. 8- Saliva flow could be affected by water intake. Saliva contains 99% water, so its flow is affected directly by the amount of water intake. 9- Saliva flow is affected by teethening. In children, saliva flow increases when they are about to get new teeth in their mouth. 10- Saliva contains several types of bacteria. It contains different types of harmless bacteria which could be transferred from one to another one through direct contact. Although saliva is found naturally in our mouth and derived with no problems from salivary glands in most people, its lack of flow could be a problem in some cases and it should be stimulated with certain stimulators. So we should thank God for every blessing and never take anything for granted.
