Tag Archives: saliva

Saliva. 99% Water or what?

Body Water

 

Image Design by Grant. For Church Street Dental Surgery, Leominster.

🧪 Declaration of Saliva-Power:

(World of Water Junior Scientist Edition)

We, the Curious Commanders of Clean Teeth, declare:

  1. Our Saliva is a Living Laboratory!
    Every drop of spit is filled with thousands of secret agents-proteins, enzymes, and antibodies – each with their own special job. Did you know scientists have found over 2,000 different proteins in saliva? Some of them don’t even have names yet!

  2. Your Spit Tells Your Story!
    Scientists can use just a little bit of your saliva to learn about your DNA, your health, and even what kinds of bacteria are living in your mouth. In one huge study, kids gave spit samples to help researchers learn how genes and the environment shape our bodies and minds-each sample gave them 10 million data points to explore!

  • Spit vs. Blood: The Showdown!
    In some cases, saliva is even better than blood for testing how healthy you are. For example, doctors can now use saliva to check for special antibodies that protect you from getting sick with things like pneumonia-even before you feel ill!

Saliva and Super Social Skills!
Did you know that kids can figure out who their closest friends or family are by noticing who they share saliva with? Sharing a spoon, a kiss, or even a lollipop is a secret clue that says, “We’re really close!”

  • Saliva: The Allergy Buster?
    Babies who have more contact with saliva-like when parents clean a pacifier by sucking on it-might be less likely to get allergies like eczema or hay fever when they’re older. How does that work? Scientists are still figuring it out!

  • Collecting Spit, Like a Pro!
    There are cool ways to collect saliva for science: drooling, spitting, sucking, or using special swabs. Some methods work better for little kids, and others for big kids or teens.

    Which method would you choose if you were a scientist?

đź’§ Water: The Unsung Hero

The 99% water in saliva isn’t just for mixing things up! It:

  • Washes away germs and leftover food (like a mini-mouth shower).

  • Helps you taste your food by dissolving flavors.

  • Keeps your mouth comfy and moist so you can talk, chew, and swallow easily.

  • Carries all those amazing proteins and antibodies to where they’re needed most.

🔎 Ready for a Challenge?

  • Can you find out what “amylase” does in your mouth?

  • Why do scientists want to study the DNA in your spit?

  • What’s the weirdest way you could collect a saliva sample?

  • How does saliva help you stay healthy in ways blood can’t?

Now you know: your spit isn’t just spit-it’s a science superpower! What else can you discover about your own amazing saliva?

CLUE HUNT:

amylase (AMY1), statherin (STATH), mucins (MUC5B, MUC7), histatins (HTN1, HTN3), lactoperoxidase (LPO), and cysteine-rich secretory protein 3 (CRISP3)

Or go read  :

Functional Specialization of Human Salivary Glands and Origins of Proteins Intrinsic to Human Saliva

Note:
Artificial saliva products are simplified imitations, their goal being to relieve symptoms of dry mouth (xerostomia), which is common after cancer treatments that affect the salivary glands. They often use ingredients like carboxymethylcellulose, glycerol, or animal-derived mucins to mimic the texture and viscosity of saliva, but these substitutes lack the full spectrum of proteins, enzymes, and adaptive properties found in natural saliva.