Teeth and the Digestive System

What is Digestion?

Digestion is the way in which bodies break down food and drink into smaller pieces so that their nutrients can be absorbed into the system. If food wasn't digested, it wouldn't be possible to extract these nutrients and for bodies to carry them through the blood cells to the different body parts that need. Digested food is used for energy and to nourish cells in the body.

How Does the Digestive Process Work?

Digestion follows these steps:

• Food enters the mouth.

• The food mixes with saliva after it's chewed.

• The mixture of food and fluids moves through the digestive tract.

• Chemicals in the digestive tract break down the food mixture into small molecules the body can absorb.

What Is Included in the Digestive System?

The digestive system has two parts. The first part is the digestive tract where hollow organs are joined together by a long tube that starts with the mouth and ends at the anus. The parts of the digestive tract include the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, rectum, and anus. The other part of the system is the organs needed for digestion that aren't part of the digestive tract. These organs include the saliva glands, the tongue, the pancreas, the liver, and the gallbladder.

How Does Food Travel Through the Digestive System?

Muscles move food and associated liquids through the digestive tract by making wave-like motions called "peristalsis". Food goes through six steps as it moves through the digestive system.

• The first step is when the food is chewed and swallowed.

• After swallowing, the food enters the esophagus.

• A valve shaped like a ring joins the esophagus to the stomach. As food nears the stomach, the ring opens to let it through then closes once the food has fully entered the stomach.

• The stomach stores the swallowed food. Then it mixes up the food with digestive juices through a muscle movement produced by the lower part of the stomach. When this is done, the stomach pushes the mixture into the small intestine.

• Chemicals made by the intestine, liver, and pancreas help dissolve and digest food while it is in the small intestine.

• Nutrients from the digested food are absorbed by the walls of the intestine. Anything leftover is a waste product and is pushed through to the colon to become part of the next bowel movement.

What Are Teeth?

Teeth are bones that are attached to jaws and used for chewing food. Humans have two sets of teeth during their lives. The first is their baby, or primary teeth. There are twenty primary teeth in the human jaw. After these fall out during childhood, they are replaced by 32 permanent teeth. Human teeth are designed for eating and help chew food in different ways. For example, the incisor teeth are good for tearing at food as it enters the mouth. The molars are flat, strong, and used for crushing.

What Is The Role of Teeth in the Digestive System?

Teeth are so important that babies don't start eating solid foods until their baby teeth start coming in to help them chew and digest their food. Food can't be digested if it's not properly chewed. Swallowing food without chewing it is a choking hazard because the food will get stuck in your throat if it's not made wet and slippery by chewing it. As teeth chew the food, the saliva glands in the mouth release fluid to mix with the food. Saliva helps in the digestive process, but also protects the teeth and the soft tissues of the mouth from being damaged by food.

• The Digestive Process: Digestion Begins in the Mouth
• How Your Teeth Affect Your Digestive System
• Body Cavities and the Digestive System
• Can Your Dental Health Affect Your Digestive Health?
• Parts of the Digestive System
• Tooth Erosion and Acid Reflux
• The Digestive Process: Digestion Begins in the Mouth
• Oral Health: A Window to Your Overall Health
• Why Healthy Digestion Begins in the Mouth
• The Digestive System: Keeping Teeth Healthy
• Go to the Dentist to Protect Your Teeth
• Saliva: More than just Drool
• Your Digestive System & How it Works
• Your Digestive System
• Emergency Dental Care
• Introduction to the Digestive System
• The Digestive Process: The Liver and its Many Functions
• Overview of the Digestive System
• How Your Gastrointestinal Tract Works
• Human Digestive System
• Difference Between Small and Large Intestine
• The Gastrointestinal System
• Healthy Eating and the Digestive System