Evaluation of the Effect of Upper Complete Denture on Gustatory and Olfactory Senses

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The majority of complete denture wearers are old. Clinical experience suggests that complete denture wearers have various disorders in their gustatory and olfactory senses due to disturbance of airways between the oral and nasal cavities caused by upper complete denture. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of upper complete denture on gustatory and olfactory senses in denture wearers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, gustatory and olfactory senses in 30 patients (15 men and 15 women with a mean age of 52.93 ± 12.97 years) were evaluated three times: before complete denture insertion, three days after insertion and 1 month after that. Sucrose, citric acid, NaCl solution and distilled water (in two samples) were used to evaluate gustatory evalu-ation while mint- and cinnamon-flavored chewing gums were used for olfactory evaluation. Means and standard deviations were calculated and then compared between the different time intervals. P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The mean taste identification time was 5.23 ± 3.52 seconds before denture insertion, which decreased three days after insertion of denture and 1 month after use; however, these changes were not significant (P = 0.149). The mean time of flavor recognition increased after three days of insertion compared to the period before denture wear but decreased after 1 month; however, these changes were not significant (P = 0.792). In addition, the results revealed no significant differences in mean error in identification of taste and smell before and after denture insertion (P = 0.294). CONCLUSION: Denture wearing does not influence gustatory and olfactory senses.