Mouth

The oral cavity or the mouth is an important part of the human body. From the basic function of mastication to initial diagnosis of systemic diseases, it’s an important indicator of your general health. Given below are the structures that overall comprise the oral cavity.

• Lips
• Teeth
• Gums and supporting structures, medically known as Periodontium.
• Flexible, muscular tongue attached to the floor of the cavity
• Palate, the ceiling of the cavity
• Muscle folds - Faucial muscles connecting the oral cavity to the throat.
• Salivary glands in the floor and the buccal aspect of the oral cavity.
• Floor of the mouth.
• Jaw joint or the temporomandibular joint - important for the movement of the jaw to perform major functions.

The oral cavity consists of three basic structures that form and /or cover all the above mentioned structures. They are :

• Oral Mucosa

  The mucous membrane that covers the entire oral cavity except the teeth is termed as Oral Mucosa. It may be pink to brownish purple in colour.

• Muscles

  Lips, cheeks and the tongue, all contain muscles in some form or the other. They facilitate the movements in the oral cavity to accomplish various oral functions

• Bones

  The upper jaw (maxilla) and the lower jaw (mandible) are the bony components of oral cavity.