Oral Sensory System: Function, Tasks, Role & Diseases

Mouth sensory system is fundamentally understood by medicine as the correct movement and feeling inside the mouth. The mouth sensory system affects the entire body and is influenced by the entire body. It shows once again the complex interplay between the different parts and functions of the body. Thus, an incorrect bite position, which noticeably changes the mouth sensory system, can affect the posture of the body, among other things.

What is the mouth sensory system?

The mouth sensory system is in the interaction of many things. It ensures that we can speak clearly and distinctly, and it also ensures that we can chew without problems. Mouth sensory function is strongly related to oral motor function and can only be defined in an overarching way. It can play numerous different roles for the body. Basically, the term refers to the sensory system inside the mouth, which is influenced, for example, by the motor system in the mouth and thus by the teeth and the tongue. The oral sensory system is usually formed in childhood, but can develop incorrectly due to a wide variety of influences. A common example is a defectively developed set of teeth, which can occur, for example, if the child frequently puts things in his or her mouth – such as the thumb. However, an improper or faulty position or posture of the tongue and body can also affect the oral sensory system and cause faulty development of the dentition.

Function and task

The mouth sensory system is in the interaction of many things. It ensures that we can speak clearly and distinctly, and it also ensures that we can chew without problems. The mouth sensory system further ensures that we can move our tongue, our lips, and to some extent our jaws in such a way that we can communicate and feed ourselves clearly without physical impairment. However, the way and form in which we move our jaws, lips and tongue is something we usually learn in infancy. For this reason, it is very important that oral motor skills are supported in their correct development as early as possible. On the other hand, this also means that a defectively developed sensory system can affect the rest of our lives in many ways – speech defects and complaints when chewing are just two of the many known complaints that are based on defective oral sensory systems. The sensory system in the mouth also indirectly affects the entire body. This interaction between mouth and body often receives little attention, but the mouth sensory system can significantly influence not only pronunciation and chewing function, but also balance and posture, among other things. In addition, a faulty mouth sensory system can trigger countless complaints, the causes of which are not always localized in the mouth at first glance.

Diseases and complaints

A defectively developed mouth sensory system can lead to a defective bite position, but can also be triggered by one the other way around. Accordingly, disorders in bite position and posture can also have a serious influence on the mouth sensory system. In addition, internal causes or diseases that affect the posture or the bite can also have an influence on the mouth sensory system. This in turn can lead to further negative and distressing symptoms. One of the best known negative influences is teeth grinding. This can also manifest itself in various ways. In some cases it only occurs during sleep and therefore remains undetected for a long time. In other cases, however, it occurs permanently, i.e. also during the day. For example, when the patient is under stress or in thought. The teeth can also clash awkwardly due to an incorrect bite position when speaking, chewing or at rest. This rubbing is usually felt as grinding. The process has an enormous effect on the jaw and the surrounding muscles. As a result, an incorrect bite position can lead to headaches, pain in the jaw and muscle complaints in the neck and shoulders, among other things. Affected persons often try to counteract the tension and pain subconsciously or consciously by slightly changing the posture of the upper body, which can have an effect on the entire posture. In addition, however, the mouth sensory system and the body posture influence each other in a very variable way.One possible type could be, for example, incorrect posture in childhood triggered by the child itself, for example if it often sits hunched over at a desk. However, it is not uncommon for physical causes to occur that either directly affect the mouth sensory system or affect another part of the body that in turn has a great influence on the mouth sensory system. One such cause could be a shortened leg, for example, which causes a fault in the body’s musculoskeletal system, which in turn affects the mouth motor system and thus the sensory system as a whole through incorrect posture. In order to determine the actual causes of the disorder in the oral sensory system, various examinations are usually necessary. On the way to a diagnosis, visits to the dentist, oral surgeon, orthopedist and physiotherapist, among others, can be helpful. In most cases, they are aware of the connection between the present complaints and possible causes, so that they can use various examinations to find out exactly what the present cause is and what is triggered by it as a secondary complaint. Only in this way can both the cause and the secondary symptom be treated – this happens especially successfully when several doctors from different specialties work together.