Digestive System Mouth Function
Digestion in Mouth

In the digestive system mouth has an important function of food ingestion (taking in the food) and starting the digestion of food. The digestion process starts as soon as we take the food in. Mouth is also known as oral cavity.

Remember you are asked to chew your food well and not talk while there is food in the mouth, here is why!

Ingestion of food through the mouth.

As soon as we take the food in through the mouth, teeth start chewing. The saliva is already produced at the sight and smell of food. The food is mixed with the saliva with the help of the tongue.

The teeth and tongue work together in the mechanical breakdown of the foods. The tongue moves the food around and makes it easy for the teeth to masticate well. The saliva keeps the food moist which is easily chewed and then moved down the throat when we swallow.

The solid Food is broken into smaller pieces and then into paste in the mouth which makes it easy for digestion in the stomach. The finer the food is ground, chewed in the mouth, the easier it is for digestion.

Then it is pushed into the throat and into the esophagus. The swallowing action is done volunterily. Once the food is swallowed, the digestive process happens automatically.

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