PHILADELPHA - Patients who had their wisdom teeth removed had better taste abilities for decades, according to a Penn Medicine study. It was published in Chemical Senses. These findings are the first to examine the long-term effects that wisdom teeth (also known as third molars) can have on taste.According to Richard L. Doty (PhD), senior author and director of the University of Pennsylvania's Smell and Taste Center, "Prior studies only showed adverse effects on taste after extraction." "This study shows that patients can experience a slight improvement in taste function between surgery and 20 years later. This is a fascinating and surprising finding, which deserves more research to understand how it works clinically.Dane Kim, a third year student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and Doty, evaluated data from 1,255 patients that had received a chemosensory evaluation at Penn’s Smell and Taste Center. The evaluations were conducted over the period of 20 years. 891 of those patients had had third molar extractions, while 364 did not.Five different concentrations of sucrose and sodium chloride are used in the "whole-mouth Identification" test. Each solution is then taken in a small amount, sipped and spit out. The subjects then taste the solution and indicate whether it is sweet, salty or sour.For each of the four tastes tested, the extraction group performed better than the control group. In all cases, men outperformed women. This study shows that people who have had extractions in the distant future experience an average enhancement in their taste ability (typically three to ten percent).Kim stated that the study strongly suggested that the extraction of the thirdolar has a long-term positive, though subtle effect on the function and taste pathways of some people.The authors suggested two possible explanations for the enhancement. The first is that nerves at the front of your mouth that innervate taste buds can be damaged by extraction. This could lead to inhibition of nerves at the rear that supply taste buds. This can increase whole-mouth sensitivity. In other settings, hypersensitivity following peripheral nerve injury such as an extraction has been well documented. Animal studies have shown that repetitive light touch during chewing can increase neural responses to irritated tissue and lead to long-term tactile hypersensitivity. However, it is unknown if this happens for taste.Doty stated that further research is needed to identify the mechanism or mechanisms behind the extraction's improvement in taste function. Although the effects are not obvious, they may offer insight into how altering the environment can lead to long-term improvements in neural function.###
