Alteration in Taste Perception among Young Children during the use of Removable Orthodontic Appliance Therapy

Background: The sense of smell is very influential in the taste of foods. If the smell pleases us, we anticipate the taste of the food with a great deal of relish. If our sense of smell is impaired, so is our taste. The effect of appliance on taste perceptions has always had a controversial subject.

Materials and methods: The present study was designed to analyze the change in taste perception in children using removable orthodontic appliances. All the selected volunteers were given different taste stimuli and were asked to score as per their perception. The verbal score was calculated based on the correct and incorrect taste stimuli given to them. Visual analog scale was used to assess intensity and hedonic (palatability) estimation of the volunteers.

Results: The volunteers from both study and control groups scored different values for taste stimuli. The majority of stimuli were estimated correctly by both groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the study and control groups.

Conclusion: In different testing sessions, the scoring of the volunteers was nearly constant, indicating that an appliance does not play a major role in the alteration of taste stimuli.

Clinical significance: The appliance brings about transient change in taste perception, we should educate the patient before delivering the appliance about the transient change in taste perception and encourage full-time wear of the appliance, including during meals, without fear of affecting taste sensations.