SALIVA AND TASTE DISORDERS

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the role of saliva in taste perception. In one of the experiments described in the chapter, three women and six men between the ages of 16 and 51 abstained from eating or smoking for two hours. Each subject was then assessed by two tests within eight hours. One tester administered the HK test, while the other one administered the 3d-H test. Each subject was unaware of the other's results. Separate series of sodium chloride and sucrose solutions were prepared from reagent grade chemicals with double-distilled (DD) water, stored at 4°C and brought to room temperature before use. Under the 3d-H method, three consecutive drops of approximately 0.06 ml each were delivered to the anterior 1/3 of the tongue. Under the staircase method, 11 CF subjects of 19 to 24 years of age were recruited from the NIH Normal Volunteer Program. Each CF subject was age- and sex-matched with a subject having seven or more carious or restored teeth.