Question

Explain the process of digestion in the buccal cavity with a note on the arrangement of teeth.

Answer 1

Digestive juice in the buccal cavity :

● Three pairs of salivary glands are present in our buccal cavity which play a major role in the secretion of saliva. The largest salivary gland is the parotid gland, situated near the ears.
● Saliva is slightly acidic and is a mixture of water, electrolytes, salivary amylase or ptyalin, lysozyme etc.

Digestion in the buccal cavity :

The digestion of the food takes place in two ways:-
● Mechanical digestion: Food in the buccal cavity is masticated with the help of teeth and mixed with the secretion of the salivary glands
● Chemical digestion: Salivary amylase converts starch into maltose, isomaltose and α-dextrins. 30% of the starch in food is hydrolysed in the buccal cavity.


Dentition :

Human dentition has the following prominent features:
● Thecodont: Embedded in sockets
● Diphyodont: Two sets
● Heterodont: Different types of teeth
The dental formula for adult humans is $2123/2123$.
The arrangement on each half of our jaw is represented as follows:

Number	Type of teeth
2	Incisors (I)
1	Canine (C)
2	Premolars (PM)
3	Molars (M)