Khaberni - Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have revealed an unexpected impact of wisdom teeth extraction on taste perception, noting a gradual improvement in the ability to distinguish between flavors among individuals who have undergone this procedure over the years following the extraction.
The team analyzed data from 1,255 individuals who underwent regular tests to assess taste sharpness over two decades, including 891 individuals who had their wisdom teeth removed, while the rest retained theirs. The results showed that participants who had their wisdom teeth removed outperformed those who did not by between 3 and 10% in their ability to distinguish flavors.
The tests included tasting various solutions such as sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, and caffeine, where the group that underwent wisdom teeth extraction recorded higher accuracy in identifying all flavors, and researchers noted that women in this group had a finer sense of taste than men.
The biological reasons behind this effect are still unclear, but the researchers suggest that removing wisdom teeth may lead to damage to nerve endings in the back of the mouth, which gradually increases the sensitivity of receptors in the rest of the mouth cavity. The scientists confirm that verifying this hypothesis requires more future studies.
