Age features of the oral cavity, tongue, salivary glands
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The mouth cavity of the newborn has small dimensions. The vestibule is delimited from the oral cavity by the so-called gingival margin, and not by the alveolar processes. Lips are thick, the mucous membrane is covered with papillae. On the inner surface of the lips there are transverse ridges. The intermediate part (transition zone) is narrow, the circular muscle of the mouth is well developed.
The firm sky is flat, located at the level of the vault of the pharynx, the soft palate is short, horizontal. The palatal curtain does not touch the posterior pharynx wall, which allows free breathing when sucking. The mucous membrane of the hard palate forms weakly expressed transverse folds and is poor in glands.
The tongue of the newborn is wide, short, thick, and inactive. It occupies the entire oral cavity. With a closed oral cavity, it extends beyond the edges of the gums and reaches the cheeks. Ahead of the tongue protrudes between the upper and lower jaws on the threshold of the mouth, which in the newborn is very small. The papillae of the tongue are expressed, the lingual tonsil is poorly developed.
With the appearance of milk teeth, and then during the first childhood there is a significant increase in the size of the alveolar processes of the upper jaw, the alveolar part of the lower jaw and the oral cavity. The firm sky seems to rise.
The palatine tonsil (see the organs of the immune system) in a newborn has small dimensions (up to 7 mm), but with an open oral cavity it is clearly visible, as it is slightly covered by the anterior arch. By the end of the first year of the child's life, the amygdala, due to rapid growth, appears medially from the amygdala fossa. In children, the amygdala is relatively large. Maximum dimensions (28 mm) it reaches to 16 years.
Salivary glands in the newborn are poorly developed. Especially fast they grow after 4 months, during the first 2 years. In the future, the glands enlarge in length, their ducts become more branched. The parotid duct of the parotid gland is located lower than in adults, opens at the level of the first molar.
The cheeks in children are convex due to the presence of a round fat body between the skin and a well developed buccal muscle. With age, the fat body becomes more flat and moves backward, behind the chewing muscle.
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