Changes in sensory perception affect the life quality of people. Poor taste detection can result in reduced interest in food. During the ageing process, the reduced power of masseter muscles and the reduced secretion of saliva cause difficulties in chewing and deteriorate overall oral hygiene. In an edentulous patient, a total prosthesis replaces the lost hard and soft tissues and ensures the normal function of the stomatognathic system. It is made of polymer acrylate bases and acrylate, composite or ceramic teeth. The contact between the tongue and the palate is disturbed by the presence of a polymeric celestial plaque of the total prosthesis, which may also interfere with tasting. In our study, a sensory test of the recognition of basic tastes in aqueous solutions was performed in subjects with total prosthesis and without it. The basic tastes are bitter, sour, sweet and salty. All sensory assessments were carried out in accordance with the ISO standards. The sensory panel consisted of 40 people, including 24 women and 16 men. The average age of the participants was 71.9 ± 8.5 years. They were divided into two panels based on the use of a total prosthesis, with 20 participants each. We also compared the differences in taste recognition in people with worn-out and new total prosthesis, immediately after insertion of the total prosthesis and after one month. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that people with total prosthesis are less likely to recognize basic tastes than people without it. There were statistically significant differences in the recognition of sweet (χ 2 = 6.347, p = 0.012) and bitter (χ 2 =10.470, p = 0.001) taste between the two groups of participants. The age of total prosthesis did not have a significant effect on the recognition of basic tastes in people with prosthodontic treatment.
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