The importance of oral health

The mouth is the organ considered as the entrance door of the organism through which food is ingested and sounds are emitted to communicate. The mouth is limited externally by the lips. Inside, we find the teeth. The teeth are aligned forming arches in the maxillary bones (upper and lower jaw or mandible) which also have an arched structure. All the walls of the oral cavity, and also of the tongue, as a further part of the mouth are covered by mucosa. The structure of the mucosa is not exactly the same in the whole mouth. The mucous membrane that covers the bone is attached to it and is called the attached mucous membrane or gum. It is more keratinized on its surface. On the inside of the cheeks the mucosa is smooth and considerably softer. In the anterior part of the palate is very firm (masticatory function) and has a rough appearance. The palate of the oral cavity is bone, is hard in the front and fibrous and softer in the back. The sky of the mouth ends behind, at the height of the pharynx, in several loose folds and membranes.

Functions of Oral Structures

In humans, the mouth is an integral part of digestion, speech, and breathing.  Food enters the mouth and is crushed by the teeth (mechanical digestion) and initiates digestion by the action of enzymes secreted by the major and minor salivary glands (chemical digestion). A deficit in masticatory capacity entails a modification of the diet and an inadequate nutrition deficient in fruits, vegetables and meat due to its greater masticatory requirement. together with the tongue, lips and nasal cavity, the mouth modifies the sound waves that originate in the larynx to produce the sounds of speech and to pronounce words. The air is inhaled and exhaled through the oral cavity and the nasal cavity. More than 95% of halitosis (bad breath) is caused by an oral problem (caries or periodontal disease).