Saliva Questions Flashcards
What are the 10 functions of saliva?
1) Food Functions
- Taste, Digestion, Bolus Formation
2) Teeth Functions
- Buffer, Prevent Demin, Enable Remin, Lubrication
3) Microbe-protection Functions
- Anti-bacterial, Anti-fungal, Anti-viral
What is the composition of whole saliva?
How is the composition of unstimulated saliva different from stimulated saliva?
WS - 99.5% water, 0.3% electrolytes, 0.2% proteins
S - higher ion conc (Na+, Cl- , HCO3-,) , higher amino acids, urea, glucose, enzymes (amylase, lysozyme)
US - higher mucins conc, statherin,
How much saliva do you approx produce per day?
500 mL
What is the flow rate differences in unstimulated vs stimulated saliva?
US - 0.3-0.4 mL/min
S- 1.5-3.0 mL/min
What glands in your body produce saliva?
Parotid, Submandibular, Sublingual, and minor glands on mucosal surfaces
What is the differences between your parotid and submandibular glands?
Parotid: Serous thin, watery, amylase
- Larger, serous secretions, predominantly stimulated saliva
- 50 percent stimulated saliva, 25% unstimulated saliva
Submandibular: Mucous + serous visocous, silmy, mucin rich
- Smaller, mucuous and sereous secretions,
- 60% US, 35% S
What are the differences between submandibular glands and sublingual glands?
Submandibular: visocous, silmy, mucin rich
- Larger, mucuous and sereous secretions,
- 60% US, 35% S
Sublingual - viscous, mucin-rich saliva
- Smaller, Predominantly mucous secretions,
- US = S 7-8%
What are the minor salivary glands? What are their properties?
Glands on - lateral border of tongues, labial mucosa, posterior part of palate, buccal mucosa
Palatine glands are mucous
Lingual Von Ebner’s glands are serous
US = S 7-8%
Where are the output regions of the 3 major saliva glands?
Parotid - Parotid papilla on buccal mucosa, opposite of 2nd Max molar
Submandibular - Under tongue from sublingual papilla
Sublingual - 8-20 ducts on summit of sublingual fold
What are the differences and similarities of serous cells and mucous cells?
serous cells produce watery, seromucous secretions
mucous cells produce viscous, mucin-rich secretions
Both secrete a “primary saliva”, exist in the salivary glands, and utilize interstitial fluid from the capillaries
Also both are acini cells
What happens in the striated duct of saliva glands?
Ion Exchange - reabsorption of Na+, Cl- , HCO3-
Bob is a scientist that studies saliva flowrates in humans. Bob noticed that when humans in the experimental group smell freshly baked bread, their saliva flow-rate increases. Humans in the control group (no exposure) have a lower salivary flow rate.
Explain why this is the case? What differences would you expect in terms of saliva composition in the control vs the experimental group?
What happens in saliva production in the control vs experimental?
- Smell stimulates salivary response
- In experimental, parotid gland secretes more saliva due to it’s biased contribution to stimulated saliva output
- Experimental group will have more stimulated saliva than unstimulated saliva
- ExG saliva will be more serous, watery, and rich of digestive enzymes such as amylase.
- CG will have more mucous, (but still mixed) saliva.
- In the ExG, stimulated saliva will move faster through striated ducts in the saliva gland, and be richer in ions (buffer capacity)/
A scientist puts slices of potatoes into jar A and jar B. Jar A is filled with stimulated saliva, collected from a human. Jar B is filled with unstimulated saliva, collected from a human.
After 2 hours, the scientist takes out the slices of potatoes and makes qualitative observations.
Explain what you expect to see. Why do you expect to see the things that you’ve described?
US has a lower ion conc than S ; therefore S is hypertonic relative to US
Potatoes slices in Jar A will be plasmolyzed while potatoes in Jar B will be turgid or unchanged (if isotonic)
potatoes slices in both jars may be slightly/partially digested
What saliva helps facilitate our ability to taste?
Unstimulated saliva due to hypotonic nature
- low conc of acid, urea, glucose (helps cleanse taste buds)
Helps us taste Acidity, Bitterness, Umami, Sweet
Is the pH of parotid produced saliva higher or lower than submandibular saliva at rest?
Why is that? (optional)
Lower pH in parotid
higher ca concentration in submandibular
higher carbonate and osmolality in submandibular
What are the differences of saliva collected from the parotid gland vs submandibular gland?
parotid: lower pH, lower calcium, higher phosphate, low osmolality
Submandibular: higher ph, calcium, lower phosphate, higher carbonate, higher osmolality
How does saliva help keep teeth healthy (2 points)
Prevent demin - Supersat (IAP>Ksp) prevents demin of crystals in the fluid surrounding it
Promote remin- Supersat (IAP>Ksp) promotes remin in demin crystals
Describe the structure of the protein Statherin?
1) Largely hydrophobic/uncharged
2) N-terminus contains neg charged amino acid (Asp, SerP, Serp, Glu Glu)
3) 43 amino acid long (low molecular weight)
What are the properties of Statherin and how does it interact with saliva and teeth?
Negatively charged N-terminus binds ACP
prevents spontaneous precipitation of calcium phosphate in saliva:
Hydrophobic segment wraps around cluster of ACP
This stabilizes ACP and prevents critical size for transformation
Statherin can also bind HA with N-terminus, and contributes to the pellicle
- promote selective initial colonization of enamel
-lubricant of enamel surface
- inhibit demin
Inhibits cyrstal growth of HA when bound to a surface
Where in the mouth is susceptible to calculus deposition?
mandibular centerals, laterals, incisor region
buccle surfaces of maxillary 1st and 2nd molars
due to proximity of salivary glands
What are is a stephan curve?
Curve that shows plaque ph over time
Plaque ph on Y axis, ph on X axis
List what they do
