When you think about your tongue, the first thing you think of is probably food & taste. But how does a tongue work? Your tongue is made up of thousands of taste buds, which are microscopic sensory organs that sit inside the bumps on your tongue. Each one contains 50–150 specialized receptor cells designed to detect chemicals in food.
Depending on age & genetics, you can have anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds, so it is true that some people do have a keener sense of taste than others.
How Do Taste Buds Work?
Each taste bud is not just one cell but a collection grouped together inside the bumps on your tongue. These groups consist of the primary taste receptor cells that connect to nerves that transmit taste to your brain, basal cells that eventually turn into taste receptor cells & supporting cells that are scattered alongside the taste receptors.
At the top of each taste bud is a small opening called a taste pore, where microscopic “taste hairs” (microvilli) interact with food molecules. Chewing & saliva break down food in your mouth into chemicals. These chemicals enter the taste bud through the taste pore, the receptor cells get activated & a signal gets sent to your brain that registers the taste. Our taste buds are tuned to detect five main flavors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter & unami.
Taste buds do not work alone—they team up with your sense of smell & even pain receptors (for spicy foods). Hence, if your nose is blocked, your sense of taste is also typically dulled.
Does Our Taste Change?
Our taste receptor cells replace themselves every 8–12 days. This means that if you burn your tongue, it will soon recover as the cells quickly replace themselves with new ones. This also means that it is possible for your taste preferences to change. You can suddenly grow a distaste for broccoli or a love for coffee over time.
However, the rate at which our taste buds regenerate declines over time, so as we get older & the amount of taste buds in our mouth decrease, our sense of taste also grows duller.
What’s the Dental Connection?
Though taste buds are mainly concentrated on the tongue, there are also some in your throat & the roof of your mouth. Flavor is a full-mouth experience & your mouth environment affects your taste experience.
Saliva breaks down food for the taste buds to detect, so dry mouth can reduce taste sensitivity. Plaque buildup or gum disease can also alter taste signals, cause bad or metallic tastes & reduce sensitivity to flavors.
In short, a healthy mouth leads to a better flavor experience. Taking care of your oral health is not just beneficial for your teeth but advantageous for your food enjoyment as well.
Sources
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24684-taste-buds
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK539696/
https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-about-taste-buds