Wacky Wireless News: Heavy Cell Phone Use Linked to Increased Saliva

Posted on Jul 26th 2012

Does your cell phone make your mouth water? Hopefully not in the same way that a juicy T-bone steak does, but a recent study comparing heavy cell phone use and the saliva-producing glands in the jaw showed that yes, your cell phone does actually make your mouth water.

Researchers measured the size and activity of the parotid (saliva-producing) glands of 100 heavy cell phone users and compared them with a control group, 42 people who had been using a cell phone for more than three years, but were not considered heavy cell phone users. For this experiment “heavy cell phone use” was defined as using a cell phone for more than two hours per day on average. Researchers at the Vidhya Shikshan Prasark Mandal's Dental College and Research Center measured the glands in a resting state by recording salivary flow rate and examining ultrasound images of the jaw.

The results clearly showed increased blood flow and larger parotid glands in heavy cell phone users. Even more telling, the experiment participants who used their cell phones for more than two hours per day secreted 26 percent more saliva on the side of the jaw where they most often hold their cell phones than those in the control group.

While researchers did not test for a specific culprit — cell phone radiation? prolonged heat exposure? — a clear correlation between heavy cell phone use and increased saliva production was determined. When it comes to cell phones, two hours a day keeps the dry mouth away!

Next time your mobile phone-loving friend asks to borrow your cell phone to make a quick phone call, make sure you have a sanitizing wipe on hand to clean up the ... ahem ... friendly fire.