The Padrós-Serrat Dental Clinic, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, reveals some surprising facts about the structures of the tongue. The tongue is made up of 17 muscles with a function that is as spectacular or even more difficult to understand than that of the lips. The lips move thanks to 11 major muscles, with a much more sophisticated and subtle functioning than we think, almost inexplicable by the basic laws of lever and pulley mechanics that govern the activity of most other muscles in the human body.
Unlike most muscles, those of the tongue are not intended to move any bones. But the tongue is capable of projecting upward, downward, sideways and outward with movements implausible for any orthodox muscle. And it is possible for it to combine movements, turning on itself, contouring, arching, executing a ballet of strength and precision of which we are almost unaware.
Taste buds are found only on the tongue.
One of the most interesting peculiarities of the tongue is that it contains taste buds. There is talk of tasting food, of having a “good palate”. And many people believe that the taste buds are on the palate. However, this is not true. The palate only collaborates in the sense of taste, facilitating the extension of the food on the tongue.
The taste buds are located only on the tongue and preferably on the periphery of the tongue. The bitter taste is perceived by the taste buds at the back of the tongue. Sour taste is detected by the papillae on the lateral edges. Sweet is detected by the papillae on the tip. And salty taste excites the papillae located at the tip and lateral edges. Neither in the central area nor in the dorsum are there taste sensors. Therefore, to say that an adult “has a good palate” is inaccurate. In any case, we should say that they have a “good tongue”. In the newborn, on the other hand, there are taste receptors not only in the whole tongue and palate, but also in the tonsils and pharyngeal wall.
Extraordinary precision and finesse
The sensitivity of the tongue can detect the presence of an intruding hair (which is 40 microns thick) and, if we open the tips of a compass millimeter by millimeter and apply them to different parts of our anatomy, we observe that the tip of the tongue is able to perceive the two tips of the compass when they are only one millimeter apart. No other part of the body has such fine tactile perception.
The tongue is not only of extraordinary precision and finesse in tactile perception, but also in pronunciation. Let us observe, for example, the subtle difference between the movements we make with the tongue when pronouncing the letters “T” and “D” and, nevertheless, we can obtain the desired results, at great speed, in everyday language. Something similar happens with the pronunciation of “L” and “N”.
The weak point of the language
The tongue, however, has a weak point, which is the inherent risk of continuous rubbing against a poorly positioned molar. Currently, dentists have fluorescence readers that warn of a possible cancerous lesion in any area of the oral mucosa, especially in the back, the floor of the mouth and the cheeks. This risk alone (especially in smokers and people who often bite their tongue or the inside of their cheeks) warrants annual screening. Unfortunately, mouth cancer is one of the few cancers that are currently increasing in incidence. Dental surgery and orthodontics can do a lot for your prevention, in addition to their recognized services for the important aesthetics of the smile.