How does digestion occur in the mouth?

1 Answer
Feb 17, 2016

Mechanical and chemical digestion.

Explanation:

There are two types of digestion occur in mouth i.e mechanical and chemical.

         Mechanical digestion is done by teeth. There are four types of teeth present in mouth. They are Incisors, Canine, Pre molar and Molar. All teeth grind and masticate the food.

         Chemical digestion occurs through saliva. Saliva is a fluid secreted by salivary glands present in mouth. Saliva contains sodium bicarbonate, water and enzymes. Enzymes are ptyalin and maltase.

         Sodium bicarbonate is antiseptic while ptyalin converts polysaccharides into oligosaccharides and maltase further digest oligosaccharides into monosaccharides.