Effects of age and removable artificial dentition on taste.

Sodium chloride and sucrose gustatory recognition thresholds, suprathreshold taste intensity function, and sucrose suprathreshold taste preference in healthy adult males with removable artificial dentition were compared with persons having natural dentition. In addition, several inorganic salivary constituents were evaluated for their possible relationship with these modalities. The 75 participants studied were divided into two age and two dentition groups: less than 65 years versus 65 years and older; and natural dentition only versus either removable partial dentures or complete artificial dentition. Recognition threshold and suprathreshold psychophysical functions were assessed using aqueous solutions of sodium chloride and sucrose. Suprathreshold hedonic judgments were also determined for sucrose. Samples of stimulated parotid saliva were analyzed for sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate. As age increased, a statistically significant decrease was noted in the exponent of the psychophysical function for sodium chloride. A similar, but nonsignificant, trend was observed for sucrose, which was complicated by an interaction between age and dentition status. For sodium chloride, recognition thresholds tended to be higher for older persons with removable partial and complete dentures. However, no statistically significant effect was observed on the sucrose threshold or hedonic response as a result of dentition status. Analysis of several parotid saliva constituents showed no statistically significant effect caused by age or dentition status and correlations noted among the psychophysical measures appeared to be fortuitous.