Muscle · Head

Buccinator

Musculus buccinator

The muscle of the cheek, and the deepest of the facial muscles — it forms the actual side wall of the mouth, with only a lining of mucous membrane between it and your teeth. It runs from the tooth-bearing borders of the upper and lower jaws and from a tendinous seam at the back of the mouth forward to the corner of the lips. Its job during chewing is not to move the jaw but to hold the cheek in against the teeth so food is pushed back onto the grinding surfaces instead of collecting in the cheek pouch. It is also the muscle that expels air from puffed cheeks, which is where its name — the trumpeter's muscle — comes from.