Have you noticed how the mouth of an infant is always filled up with saliva? You may consider it yank but actually saliva is a very eminent part of the human body. Approximately, on average, about 50 ounces of saliva is produced every day in your body. It acts as a natural disinfectant for your mouth and helps in keeping your gums and tongue healthy. It always helps in keeping your tooth away from any kind of decay and also fights against cavities and other minor diseases.
Apart from keeping you away from various infections, saliva has some other functions also in your body. It has been recently researched that your saliva can indicate many things about you and your health. It is said that different people have different saliva types and hence different things can be known through their saliva. If you have noticed, that many times, doctors try to evaluate serious through their saliva.
Now, what are the various things that can be known through saliva types?
Low in amount
If your mouth is dry and the amount of saliva running is low, then this is something that is not normal. Saliva is needed to keep your mouth healthy. If you are having a dry mouth then there are chances that you may have tooth cavity, bad breath, and other problems. There are many reasons why dry mouth may happen. This can be the result of age or can also be side effects of various medicines. When you experience such a condition you should take special care of your mouth. You should brush twice a day, floss properly and use a mouth wash. You should also check for a dentist to know about the reasons for such a condition.
White and clumpy in nature
Your saliva can become white and clumpy if you have an oral infection. Such infections can be caused by the fungus Candida Albicans. This infection is known as thrush. Thrush can be a common symptom in people who are suffering from diabetes. This is because of a high level of sugar in the saliva and leads to faster growth of such infection-causing yeast. You should take this very seriously and should immediately check for a doctor. You will be provided with options such as antifungal mouth wash or other medicines that can help in decreasing the fungal growth and the infection.
RNA molecules
Similar to blood and urine, saliva can also be tested to know about certain diseases in your body such as cancer and diabetes. The spit test is also known to provide other details also such as the level of hormones in your body and others. Depending upon the feature of your saliva, a doctor can diagnose your diseases and then can also suggest various ways to treat those diseases of yours. When you go for a spit test, the experts go through the various molecules of the saliva to have a check of your body and health.
Acidic in nature
You cannot taste and say whether your saliva is acidic or not. When you visit a dentist, they can test your saliva with the spit strip to know its pH value. Normally, the pH value of your saliva has to be around 7 but a higher pH can cause a number of problems such as allowing the bacteria to grow in your mouth at a higher rate. Also if your saliva is getting too acidic then it can also cause erosion of the tooth that can lead to cavities. Again cavities get filled up with bacteria that cause infection and various tooth diseases.
If you have such complaints of acidic saliva you should consume food items that are rich sources of arginine such as poultry or red meat. Quite obvious now there are also a number of medicines that can help you in lowering the pH value of your saliva.
High in amount
As a dry mouth indicates something about you, similarly if you are having too much saliva in your mouth, this also indicates something unusual about you. In normal terms, if you feel too much of saliva in your mouth, the chances are that you may get pregnant. This happens because pregnant women have changes in their hormones and have a feeling of nausea many times. Obviously there is no such risk in the symptom, but you need to tale care that you do not spit out on anyone else’s face. So, there are many women who spit out frequently to keep themselves free from that excess saliva. Another way is to keep a dry candy in your mouth or to chew gum regularly. This helps you in swallowing the saliva unconsciously also.
Bitter in nature
Though the acidic saliva does not have taste, at times you may have a situation when you can experience the bitter or sour taste of the saliva. This can be because you had reflux. During reflux, your stomach may have an acid that may come up to the throat and produces a bitter flavor in your mouth. Also, if you have such experience in your mouth and throat, you will also experience heartburn that is also the result of reflux. This may lead to various other conditions such as nausea, vomiting, and also at times bad breath. If you have complaints of regular reflux, then this is the time to change your lifestyle. You should avoid greasy food and should consume food that can detoxicate you from your inside.
Tacky in taste
This can be an issue for you if you can feel a tacky taste of the saliva on your tongue. This generally happens with people who have developed a habit of breathing through the mouth. If you are into such a habit then you should immediately seek help from any medical expert because breathing through the mouth can lead you to a number of problems. If you are breathing through the mouth then there are chances that your mouth with getting dried up and there are chances that you will have bacteria attack that leads to infection.
