Did you know that dentures can affect your sense of taste? If your favorite meals have felt a little off lately, it might not be the chef’s fault. The problem could be that your dentures are blocking important taste-receptors or harboring lingering flavors from breakfast!
If you’d rather preserve your natural sense of taste than live with denture-altered flavors, keep reading. You’ll learn more about how this happens and what you can do about it.
Understanding Your Sense of Taste
Out of the five senses, taste is probably the one that relies most heavily on the other four. For example, have you ever seen or touched an object and almost immediately got an instinctual idea of what it would taste like? Or have you ever plugged your nose to more easily get down bitter medicine?
Basically, a good point to keep in mind is that your dentures probably aren’t completely impairing your ability to pick up on flavors. But they could be dulling what would otherwise be a zesty mouthful of fine food.
How Do Dentures Affect Flavor?
Your dental replacement is rather bulky and can sometimes create unpleasant aftertastes. Here’s how:
- Taste buds line your palate, not just your tongue, and can be covered by your prosthetic.
- In response to foreign oral appliances, your mouth produces more saliva, which washes away flavors.
- Leftover food particles can get stuck to your dentures and will add their own “special” seasoning to meals if not cleaned off regularly.
- Excessive denture adhesive can actually produce a metallic tang that can be unpleasant to say the least.
Fortunately, most of these appetite ruiners can be mitigated.
What Can I Do to Enjoy More Flavor?
Some solutions are as simple as brushing your dentures more frequently, or having your dentist check their fit so you don’t have to rely on so much adhesive. Others might not work as quickly. You might have to wait until your mouth adjusts to your replacement, after which it should reduce saliva production back down to normal levels. Or, if you really can’t stand how your dentures cover some of your taste buds, you might want to look into dental implants as an alternative replacement.
In any case, be sure to inform your dentist about your dulled sense of taste. Dentures are supposed to improve your quality of life, not make it harder for you to enjoy simple pleasures, so they’ll want to be in the loop about these things! Plus, your dentist might be able to offer more suggestions that are personalized to your situation and preferences. Don’t hesitate to turn to the professionals for help with your dental replacement.
About the Dentist
Dr. Joshua Hong earned his dental degree from the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in San Francisco and continues to pursue advanced training opportunities to stay up to date with the latest dental technology and techniques. He’s not satisfied with anything short of perfection and will work diligently to help you find a solution for your taste-altering dentures. To contact Dr. Hong’s office, call 623-925-8822.