Are You Experiencing Changes In Your Taste Buds During Pregnancy?

Artistic Touch Dentistry wants to discuss the changes you may experience during pregnancy, especially changes that affect your taste buds. A change in your taste buds during pregnancy is called dysguesia. Oral-B explained that, “this condition resolves after pregnancy and is basically harmless, but it can be annoying for a pregnant woman who is trying to eat right and maintain good dental hygiene and prevent cavities.”

Dysguesia is not the same as the food cravings or food aversions that occur in pregnancy. “Most doctors believe that dysguesia in pregnancy is linked to changing hormones and water retention, which affects all the cells in the body, including the taste buds. Also, some researchers believe that the metal taste prompts pregnant women to seek out all certain nutrients that they need to replace, such as sodium and calcium,” Oral-B explains. What can you do manage this? Try chewing sugarless gum or indulge in your favorite spicy foods!

Simple Steps to Better Dental Health reports that, “approximately 75% of flavor and taste sensations come from nerve cells involved with smell. Therefore, people with dysgeusia can also experience changes in their smell. Taste and smell cells work together to produce the sense of taste.” Some symptoms of dysguesia are alterations in the sense of taste and sometimes smell. The length of dysguesia depends on what the cause is. If the cause is gum disease, plaque, a temporary medication or short-term condition such as a cold, the problem should disappear once the cause is removed.

If you experience changes in your taste buds, then schedule an appointment at Artistic Touch Dentistry with Dr. Maryam Brazdo or Dr. Janice Wahl to see how they can help.