Taste evaluation in adolescents and pediatric patients with benign migratory glossitis

Taste dysfunction in children - a clinical perspective and review of assessment methods

Taste dysfunction has been associated with aging and is therefore thought to be less common in children. However, children can face medical conditions influencing their taste function. Measuring and understanding taste dysfunction in children may foster the development of treatments/interventions mitigating the detrimental effects of taste dysfunction on children's appetite and quality of life. But measuring loss of taste function requires adequate tools. This review was conducted to (1) provide an overview of etiologies (i.e., disease and iatrogenic) associated with taste dysfunction in a pediatric population; (2) to investigate which tools (psychophysical tests and questionnaires) are available to assess taste function in children; and (3) to identify what tools can be and are actually used in clinical practice. It is concluded that only a minority of available tools to assess taste function in children are readily suitable for a pediatric clinical setting. Considering the profound impact of taste dysfunction in the pediatric setting, developing and implementing a standard taste test that is sensitive, simple, and practical to use with children is pertinent.

Relationship between taste perception and use of upper complete dentures

AIMS

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the taste perception in patients with upper complete dentures.

METHODS AND RESULTS

One hundred seventy male and female patients (45-83 years old) upper denture wearers were evaluated for their gustatory function by the paper strips technique in relation to the four basic tastes. The taste test was performed with and without the presence of the denture on the palate. Through Shapiro-Wilk and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, the results were analyzed by their normal distribution. The t-test for paired samples was used to evaluate if there was a statistical difference on the taste perception and itself revealed that there is a significant difference (p < 0.01) when the taste perception was analyzed for the absence and presence of the prosthesis (alone and compared) (p < 0.01). The results revealed that patients with dentures had great difficulty to recognize the bitter taste, followed by the salty, sweet, and sour.

CONCLUSION

The presence of the denture was able to modify the perception of taste when compared to its absence, especially for the bitter taste.

Impact of the severity of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease on the gustatory sensitivity of older persons

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between the severity of dementia and taste recognition abilities in older persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

METHODS

Anthropometric measurements were performed and body mass index was used to determine the nutritional status. The taste strips were used to test gustatory functions of the five basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami).

RESULTS

A total of 30 healthy younger subjects, 30 healthy older subjects, 37 with mild stage AD and 23 with moderate stage AD were recruited. The older subjects with moderate AD showed a significant reduction of taste, less recognition of bitter and salty taste (score: 10.6 ± 2.6; 2.6 ± 0.9; 1.7 ± 1.5) when compared to older people without cognitive impairment (score: 13.3 ± 1.8; 3.4 ± 0.9; 3.2 ± 0.9), and less recognition of sweet taste (score: 2.9 ± 1.2) when compared to subjects with mild stage AD (score: 3.6 ± 0.8). Impaired recognition of salty taste was detected since the early stages of AD. Among the factors that possibly influence gustatory function, a significant correlation was detected between taste ability and age, medication intake, mini-mental state examination and the nutritional status.

CONCLUSION

The severity of dementia is directly associated with greater impairment of taste sensitivity, especially among older subjects with moderate stage disease.

Perception of taste in HIV-positive individuals in treatment antiretroviral: results of a case-control study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of taste in HIV-infected patients.

METHOD

One hundred males and females (11 to 60 years old) were divided into two groups (50 patients infected by HIV and 50 controls) and evaluated for gustatory function.

RESULTS

The results revealed that the mean score in the evaluation of taste was significantly lower in individuals with HIV when compared to controls for both sides of the tongue (p < 0.05). Patients with HIV infection had difficulty recognizing the bitter taste, followed by salty and sweet. When each side of the tongue was evaluated separately and compared, the Wilcoxon test showed that there was no significant difference on the tongue of individuals with HIV. The prevalence of hypogeusia was 20% in individuals with this disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals with HIV infection may have a deficit in taste that can affect your general and oral health.