A new study shows us that taste function can slightly improve between the time patients have wisdom teeth removal surgery and up to 20 years later!
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, evaluated data from 1,255 patients who had undergone a chemosensory evaluation at Penn's Smell and Taste Center over the course of 20 years. Among that group, 891 patients had received third molar extractions and 364 had not.
A "whole-mouth identification" test incorporates five different concentrations of sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, and caffeine. Each solution is sipped, swished in the mouth, and then spit out. Subjects then indicate whether the solution tastes sweet, salty, sour, or bitter.
The extraction group outperformed the control group for each of the four tastes, and in all cases, women outperformed men. The study suggests, for the first time, that people who have received extractions in the distant past experience, on average, an enhancement (3-10% improvement) in their ability to taste.
Two possibilities could explain the enhancement. First, extraction damage to the nerves that innervate the taste buds on the front of the mouth can release inhibition on nerves that supply the taste buds at the rear of the mouth, increasing whole-mouth sensitivity. Second, hypersensitivity after peripheral nerve injury from a surgery like an extraction has been well documented in other contexts. There is evidence, for example, from animal studies that repetitive light touch, which might occur during chewing, gradually accentuates neural responses from irritated tissue that can lead to progressive long-term tactile hypersensitivity. Whether this occurs for taste, however, is not known. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanism or mechanisms behind the extraction-related improvement in taste function.
For more information, read the article below!
https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/doi/10.1093/chemse/bjab032/6308464
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