What Are the Parts of Your Mouth and What Do They Do? (2024)

What Are the Parts of Your Mouth and What Do They Do? (1)

Have you ever wondered how your mouth works? It’s made up ofnumerous components that work together to help you eat, speak, breathe, digestfood, and smile. Plus, it does a bit more beyond that! By understanding howthese parts work, it’s easier to recognize the significance of good oral care.Read along as we discuss the different parts of the mouth and their functions.

Parts of The Mouth and Their Functions

Here is the basic anatomy of your mouth andhow each part functions:

Lips and Cheeks

This duo is made up of strong muscles that allow you to domany things, such as smile, frown, and kiss. Your lips help you breathe byletting air into your mouth, and when working together with the cheeks, they letyou speak. They also keep saliva and food in your mouth while chewing. Plus, theyact as a guide to keep your teeth in their proper positions!

Tongue

Did you know that your tongue is one of the hardest workingmuscles in your body? Like your heart, this powerful muscle is alwaysworking by helping you chew, swallow, speak, and taste food. It’s home to about10,000 taste buds, allowing you to enjoy your meals by detecting sweet, salty,bitter, and savory flavors.

Teeth, Gums, and Alveolar Bone

Your teeth are made of hard enamel and have roots thatanchor them into the jawbone. The alveolar bone stabilizes the teeth while yourgums hold them in place and protect the roots from decay. The obvious functionof your pearly whites is to tear and chew food for proper digestion. However,they also give your face its shape and help you pronounce words and sounds.

Salivary Glands

Your salivary glands are responsible for producing saliva, asubstance that breaks down food to begin the digestive process. It also moistensyour mouth so you can speak, chew, and swallow. Since it serves as a naturalcleansing agent that repeatedly washes away bacteria from your teeth and gums,it protects your mouth against cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease.

Temporomandibular Joint

The temporomandibular joints (TMJ) grant you the ability toopen and close your mouth and move your lower jaw forward and side to side. Thetwo joints are located on both sides of your head and work with your jawbone, facialmuscles, and ligaments. They also assist you in speaking, chewing, and swallowing.

How Can I Keep My Oral Cavity Healthy?

There are many steps you can take to keep your oral cavityhealthy, including:

  • Practicing good oral hygiene (brushing yourteeth twice a day and flossing daily)
  • Regularly cleaning your tongue
  • Rinsing with an antimicrobial mouthwash
  • Avoiding tobacco products and excess alcoholconsumption
  • Limiting your intake of sugary, fatty, acidic,starchy, and processed foods
  • Visiting your dentist for routine cleanings andexams

As you can see, there’s so much more to your mouth than justa gorgeous smile! By taking good care of your oral cavity, you can keep it healthyand strong for many years to come.

About the Author

Dr. Carroll R. Butler has helped patients achieve andmaintain their best smiles for over 25 years. He earned his Doctor of DentalSurgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center Dental School at SanAntonio. Dr. Butler is passionate about educating his patients to help themmake informed and confident decisions about their oral health. If you have anyquestions about parts of the mouth, he is more than happy to answer them foryou. Visit our websiteor call (830) 257-4900 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Butler.

What Are the Parts of Your Mouth and What Do They Do? (2024)

FAQs

What are the functions of the mouth and its parts? ›

The mouth is an oval-shaped cavity inside the skull. The two main functions of the mouth are eating and speaking. Parts of the mouth include the lips, vestibule, mouth cavity, gums, teeth, hard and soft palate, tongue and salivary glands. The mouth is also known as the oral cavity or the buccal cavity.

What does your mouth do answer? ›

The oral cavity performs mastication of food and facilitation of swallowing. The hard chewing surface of teeth helps in the breakdown of food into small pieces. The teeth and tongue along with saliva mix up the food thoroughly. Amylase enzyme present in the saliva breakdown the starch into sugars.

What are the mouth organs and their functions? ›

Mouth function in digestive system

Your mouth is where digestion begins. When you chew food, your salivary glands make saliva (spit). Saliva helps break down starches in the foods you eat. Then your tongue moves the food into your throat, down through your esophagus and into your stomach.

What are the 5 points of mouth? ›

5 Parts of the Mouth and What They Do
  • Teeth, Gums and Alveolar Bone. The main task your teeth have is to tear and chew food into tiny pieces for your body to digest, but they also shape your face and help you to pronounce words and sounds. ...
  • Tongue. ...
  • Masseter Muscle. ...
  • Lips and Cheeks. ...
  • Salivary Glands.
Dec 21, 2020

What does the tongue do? ›

lingua; G. glossa) functions as a digestive organ by facilitating the movement of food during mastication and assisting swallowing. Other important functions include speech and taste. The tongue consists of striated muscle and occupies the floor of the mouth.

What is the most important part of your mouth? ›

Moreover, the tongue is the most important articulator of speech, as it manipulates itself against the teeth and palate to form words. The palate serves as a mechanical barrier separating the oral cavity from the nasal respiratory tract, also enabling simultaneous breathing and food intake.

What different things do we do with our mouth? ›

40 Things You Can Do With Your Mouth
  • Put your fist in it (very impressive party trick).
  • Bare your teeth to intimidate animals.
  • Growl.
  • Sing (especially at stoplights).
  • Whistle (bonus points if this causes a horse to gallop to you).
  • Blow bubbles (with soap, or your own saliva).
Jun 17, 2020

How does the mouth do its job? ›

Mouth. The digestive process starts in your mouth when you chew. Your salivary glands make saliva, a digestive juice, which moistens food so it moves more easily through your esophagus into your stomach. Saliva also has an enzyme that begins to break down starches in your food.

What are the functions of the mouth quizlet? ›

It plays a pivotal role in ingestion, respiration, mechanical and chemical digestion, swallowing, taste, and mastication.

How many parts make up the mouth? ›

The mouth opens to the outside at the lips and empties into the throat at the rear; its boundaries are defined by the lips, cheeks, hard and soft palates, and glottis. It is divided into two sections: the vestibule, the area between the cheeks and the teeth, and the oral cavity proper.

What are the parts of mouth organ? ›

Parts
  • Comb. The comb is the main body of the instrument, which, when assembled with the reed plates, forms air chambers for the reeds. ...
  • Reed plate. The reed plate is a grouping of several reeds in a single housing. ...
  • Cover plates. ...
  • Wind-savers. ...
  • Mouthpiece. ...
  • Accessories.

Is mouth an organ or part? ›

What organs make up the digestive system? The main organs that make up your digestive system are the organs known as your gastrointestinal tract. They are: your mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus.

How deep is a mouth? ›

An average depth for the human mouth is about 8 cm. We can model the mouth as an organ pipe that is open at the back of the throat. What are the wavelength and frequency of the first harmonic you can produce if your mouth is open?

What are 3 facts about the mouth? ›

25 Fun Facts About Your Mouth
  • Without saliva, we would not be able to taste anything.
  • The inside of your mouth contains as many bacteria as there are people on Earth.
  • Teeth start to form before you are even born but don't come through until you are between 6 – 12 months old.
  • Children have 20 teeth while adults have 32.
Sep 29, 2022

What is the three finger rule for mouth? ›

The direction of the cross product may be found by application of the right-hand rule as follows: The index finger points in the direction of the velocity vector v. The middle finger points in the direction of the magnetic field vector B. The thumb points in the direction of the cross product F.

What is the function of the mouth and teeth in the digestive system? ›

The digestive system starts at your mouth. When you put food in your mouth, your teeth break the food into smaller pieces, and the salivary glands under your tongue and on the sides and roof of your mouth release saliva. This saliva mixes with your food to make it easier to swallow.

What is the function of the mouth and saliva? ›

Your salivary glands lubricate your mouth, help you swallow, aid in digestion and help protect your teeth against harmful bacteria. You have three major types of salivary glands, including your sublingual, submandibular and parotid.

What are the 5 functions of the tongue? ›

It is involved in licking, tasting, breathing, swallowing, and speaking. The papillae present on the tongue gives it a rough texture. It is covered by a number of taste buds.

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