Question

1. Along with oral changes of aging such as decreased salivation, increased risk of infection, and decreased chewing and swallowing efficacy, why might the subjective perception of taste decrease with age?

Answer 1

Subjective perception of taste decreases due to -

1. The loss of taste does not happen all of a sudden with age . Instead, it begins around middle age and continues to decline through the remainder of life. The tongue has approximately 10,000 taste buds that are responsible for differentiating sour, sweet, salty and bitter tastes. That number of taste buds begins to decrease beginning at age 40 in women and 50 in men. Loss of taste buds is directly proportional to the loss of taste.

2. With age, there is production of less saliva, dry mouth can also affect the sense of taste.

3. The changes in the function of taste can also result from upper respiratory infections, head injuries, medication use most common in the elderly, such as tooth loss and dentures. Individually, each taste bud goes through a constant cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that lasts about two weeks. A healthy tongue removes and regrows taste buds constantly. With the onset of middle age, the taste buds continue to die and be shed, however a smaller number regenerate as the years go on, contributing to fewer taste buds in the mouth, and consequently flavors begin to taste blander. Loss of taste or changes in taste are often localized to one area of the tongue and not the whole tongue.

4. Sense of smell and taste is interlinked. allergy and nasal blockage can also cause deppletion in the sense of smell.