THE SURGERY WAS UP TO 20 YEARS AGO

Doty and co-author Dane Kim evaluated data from 1,255 patients who had undergone chemosensory evaluation over 20 years. Wisdom teeth extraction had taken place in 891 patients and not in 364.

For the taste test, subjects had to sip five different concentrated solutions of sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid and caffeine and then indicate whether the sample tasted sweet, salty, sour or bitter.

THE WOMEN TASTED BETTER THAN THE MEN
The extraction group performed better than the control group on each of the four tastes, and in all cases the women outperformed the men. The study suggests for the first time that the sense of taste improves (typically by three to ten percent) in people who have had their wisdom teeth extracted a long time ago.The researchers offer two explanations: first, wisdom tooth extraction could damage the connection between the nerves at the taste buds in the front and back of the mouth, increasing sensitivity throughout the mouth. Second, hypersensitivity following peripheral nerve injury from a surgical procedure such as extraction has been well documented in other contexts, they say.

A POSITIVE, ALBEIT SUBTLE, LONG-TERM EFFECT
For example, he said, there is evidence from animal studies that repeated light touches, such as may occur during chewing, gradually increase the neural responses of irritated tissue, which can lead to progressive long-term tactile hypersensitivity. However, it is not known whether this is the case with the also taste.
"In any case, the study strongly suggests that third molar removal has a positive, albeit subtle, long-term effect on the function of some people's lingual taste pathways," Kim said.

Dane Kim, Richard L Doty, Positive Long-Term Effects of Third Molar Extraction on Taste Function, Chemical Senses, Volume 46, 2021, bjab032, https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjab032