The Physiology of Salivary Secretion and Its Role in Tooth Decay

The salivary fluid is produced by the major salivary glands like parotid, submandibular and sublingual glands along with minor salivary glands present in the oral cavity. Almost 0.5 to 1.5 liters of salivary secretion occurs in 24 hours. The salivary gland is under autonomic control but various other factors influence the rate and quality of the secretions. The mechanism of secretion of saliva involves a number of pumps and carrier proteins present in the acinar and ductal region of the gland that forms primary secretions which undergoes changes as it moves through the ducts and converts into secondary secretions. These salivary secretions have an important digestive, protective, anti-microbial, buffering function that protects teeth from dental caries.