THE ROLE OF THE TONGUE
Q: What is the function of the tongue?
A: The tongue has many functions. For one thing, it is essential to speech. You could speak intelligibly with no teeth, but you could not do so without a tongue. The tongue also helps you move food around in your mouth so that you can chew it properly and position it for swallowing and, ultimately, digesting.
Your tongue helps with cleaning the mouth, sweeping about and plucking particles of food from the nooks and crannies of the mouth. The tongue also exerts subtle but necessary pressure on teeth, helping to keep them in line. And when teeth are erupting, the tongue coaxes them into their proper positions.
The tongue is also the home of your taste buds. They are what help make food appealing, a critical factor in getting the nutrition you need. In combination with your nose, the center of your olfactory (smell) sense, the taste buds discern salty, sour, sweet and bitter tastes and melds them into a pleasant combination.
The tongue, as you can see, is essential to your quality of life. Like any other part of the body, it is susceptible to disease, like cancer. When the dentist examines you, he looks not only at your teeth and gums, but at all the tissue in your oral cavity. The next time you visit your dentist, ask about how you can keep your tongue healthy.
If you, your family, or friends need dental care, we would be honored to provide you with state-of-the-art dental care in our modern dental practice. Refer someone you love to someone you trust!
Presented as a service to the community by Doctors Hoover and Yanda,
39 Milford Drive, Hudson, Ohio 44236. 330-650-0360.