Why Are Your Dentures Making Food Taste Salty?

Once you've adapted to wearing dentures, you expect things to settle down. However, this may take more time than you anticipated, and you may experience different changes in your mouth at different times.

For example, you may notice that food tastes saltier than it did before you had your dentures fitted. Why does this happen?

How Your Sense of Taste Reacts to Dentures

If you're wearing full dentures, then they sit on parts of your mouth that contain some of your taste buds. When you first start wearing false teeth, this can interfere with your sense of taste. If you find that food tastes saltier than before or just less sweet, then this may be down to the plate on your top set of teeth. This plate sits on some of the taste buds that identify sweet flavours in your palate.

If these taste buds don't come into contact with food and drink, then other taste buds in your mouth, like the ones that detect savoury flavours, may be more dominant. This can affect the balance of taste, increasing saltiness and reducing the sweetness.

If you're a denture newbie, then this isn't necessarily a permanent change. Once your brain gets used to having dentures in your mouth, it should even things out. In the meantime, it may help to reduce the amount of salt you use in cooking or to avoid very salty foods.

How Denture Adhesives Affect Taste

If you've been wearing dentures for a while, then your taste buds have probably already settled down. However, if your food tastes quite salty all of a sudden, then this could be down to a change in your denture habits. For example, if you've not been cleaning your dentures as thoroughly as usual, then go back to your recommended cleaning routine. This may clear the problem up.

Think about any other changes you may have made. For example, some denture adhesives can affect your sense of taste. If you've started using an adhesive for the first time or have switched to a different brand, then the salty taste may come from the adhesive rather than your food or dentures. Switching back to your original adhesive or trying a new one may help.

If the salty taste remains, talk to your dentist. They can check your dentures and recommend ways to improve the situation. If denture adhesives are affecting your taste buds, then your dentist can reline your teeth to give them a better fit so you can scrap adhesives completely.

For more information on dentures, contact your local dental office. 

Share