How Dentures Can Affect Your Sense of Taste

It’s no secret that tooth loss becomes a more common problem with age. But did you know that your sense of taste can naturally diminish with age? Fortunately, even though your tastes may change a bit, you’ll still be able to enjoy many of the foods you love. However, if you’re addressing severe tooth loss with dentures in Fairfax, you may reduce your sense of taste even more! Read on to learn why this is and what you can do about it.

Connecting Dentures and Your Sense of Taste

Dentures don’t cover up the tongue, so how could they possibly change your sense of smell? Well, it has to do with another one of your primary senses: your sense of smell. Your sense of smell plays a key role in how you taste things, and helps inform your brain about what that taste is. For example, have you ever noticed that foods and drinks taste bland when you’re sick? More often than not, this is because you are congested and can’t smell, which prevents you from tasting your meal. Dentures don’t cause nasal congestion, but a full set of upper dentures will cover your upper palate in order to stay in place. This blocks the taste of your food from your sense of smell, which can keep you from tasting very well.

How to Minimize The Impact of Your Dentures

Fortunately, even though a set of full upper dentures will inevitably influence your ability to taste, there are several things you can do to help minimize their impact, such as:

• Keep your dentures clean:  Cleaning your dentures often and thoroughly will ensure that no food particles accumulate on your dentures and provide smells and tastes of their own.
• Make sure your dentures fit well: If your dentures are seriously impeding your ability to taste, they may not fit correctly. Ill-fitting dentures have a multitude of negative effects, so don’t hesitate to reach out to your dentist right away.
• Talk to your dentist about your concerns: Don’t hesitate to reach out to your dentist with questions. They may be able to discover an underlying issue that’s causing your diminished sense of taste. Or they may offer denture alternatives to help improve your quality of life.

Regain Your Smile & Sense of Taste with Implant Dentures

One of the best ways to overcome the challenges presented by traditional removable dentures is to switch to implant dentures. Implant dentures don’t rely on suction or adhesive to stay in place. Instead, they’re anchored into your jawbone just like natural teeth with the help of dental implants. A full upper implant denture won’t need to cover your entire upper palate, so your ability to smell and therefore taste your food will be restored. Plus, thanks to their firm foundation, you’ll easily be able to eat foods that are a challenge with traditional dentures, such as nuts, apples, and steak! Implant dentures can dramatically improve your quality of life in a variety of different ways, so don’t hesitate to ask your dentist about them!

About the Practice

Fairfax Dental Group has been serving the families of Fairfax and the surrounding communities for over 25 years. Our team of dentists uses state-of-the-art technology and the latest dental techniques to provide the high-quality and personalized care each and every one of our patients deserve. That’s one of the many reasons why we offer dental implants and implant dentures! To learn more about how implant dentures can improve your life, feel free to reach us online or at (703) 560-6301.