What type of solution occurs in your mouth when you eat something with high salt content?

When you eat something with a high salt content, a hypertonic solution occurs in your mouth. A hypertonic solution is one where the concentration of solutes (in this case, salt, or sodium chloride) is higher outside the cells lining the mouth than the concentration inside those cells. The cells in your mouth and your saliva normally have a lower concentration of salt.

In a hypertonic solution, water tends to move out of the cells through a process known as osmosis in order to try and balance the concentration of solutes on either side of the cell membrane. This movement of water from a lower concentration of solutes (inside the cells) to a higher concentration of solutes (the salty food in your mouth) can cause the cells to lose water and shrink, which might give you a feeling of dryness in your mouth after eating very salty food.