How Do Taste Buds Work?

Taste buds are sensory organs. They are primarily found on your tongue as tiny little bumps called papillae. Taste buds let you know if what you are eating tastes good or bad. You are born with about 10,000 taste buds. As you age this number decreases. The average adult has about 2,000 to 8,000 taste buds. Each of these taste buds have 50-150 different taste receptors. Taste receptor cells are in charge of reporting to the brain what you are tasting.

A taste bud has three main parts, the taste receptor cells. The basal cells which eventually will turn into taste receptor cells. Taste receptor cells change about every 10 days. Then the basal cells will take their place. This means your taste receptors, or taste buds change about every 10 days. Supporting cells are also part of your taste bud, they cannot detect taste.

Flavor Sensing

Your taste buds detect 5 main different tastes:

Sweet – A sweet taste you may experience when eating things like honey, fruit, or ice cream.
Salty – Salty detected with foods like pretzels, chips, or popcorn.
Bitter – A bitter taste can be from coffee, or dark chocolate.
Sour – Sour usually comes from acidic foods like citrus fruits or vinegar.
Savory – Umami is a savory taste that you can get from tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, or soy.

Taste buds can detect multiple tastes at the same time which heightens the enjoyment of the food you are tasting. There are supertasters who have more papillae, or tiny bumps on their tongue. These people usually like milder foods because they can be overwhelmed by taste easily. Subtasters on the other hand tend to like stronger flavors because they have fewer papillae and aren’t as sensitive as supertasters.

Taste Disorders

There are many different types of taste disorders. One of the common taste disorders is phantom taste perception. This is when you taste something even when nothing is in your mouth. Dysgeusia is when you have a distorted sense of taste. Burning mouth syndrome is when you have a burning feeling almost constantly in your mouth. Ageusia causes complete loss of taste. Hypergeusia causes an increased sense of taste. Hypogeusia causes a decreased sense of taste. There are also some common injuries that can occur to your tongue, or taste buds. Burning your mouth is a common injury, this can happen when you try to eat or drink something that is too hot, resulting in your tongue to burn. Biting your tongue can also occur. Getting an injury from orthodontia or oral jewelry can also happen.

Tastes Do Change

It isn’t uncommon to hear someone claim that their taste buds have changed. Whether that is a child trying to get out of eating something, or an adult who used to love food as a child but no longer likes it. Taste buds can change. The taste receptor cells turn over every 10 days which can change your taste. As you get older your tastes change as well. You are born with 10,000 taste buds, but by the time you are middle aged that number has decreased. It continues to decrease as you get older. Not only do the number of taste buds you have decrease, but the size and sensitivity of them decrease with age as well. As you age your sense of smell decreases. This loss of smell can also decrease your sense of taste.

Viral infections can also impair your taste. Common colds, or sinus infections can cause congestion or a runny nose. These can both impair your taste buds. Gingivitis can impair taste.

Medical conditions such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and GERD can all affect your sense of taste. Any condition that affects the brain, nose or mouth can change how you process different tastes. You may experience a change in taste with cancer especially while undergoing chemotherapy.

There are some nutrients that are vital for taste buds to work properly. A deficiency in these nutrients can affect how you taste. Deficiencies in vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc, or copper.

Nerves from the mouth to the brain is how taste receptor cells move to the brain to tell your body what you are eating. If there is nerve damage in these nerves connecting the mouth to the brain it can cause taste impairment. Nerve damage can occur from an ear infection, ear surgery, dental procedures, surgical procedures of the mouth, facial nerve dysfunction, and brain trauma.

Medications can also impair your taste. The most common medications are ones that usually treat high blood pressure, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Other medications can cause dry mouth which also can change how you taste things. Medications that cause dry mouth are antibiotics, antidepressants, antifungals, antihistamines, antihypertensives, anti-inflammatories, antipsychotics, antiviral, CNS medications, diuretics, muscle relaxants, and thyroid medications.

Tobacco use can also impair your taste.

Keeping Your Taste Buds Healthy

There are some things you can do to keep your taste buds healthy. One is to make sure you don’t use any tobacco products. Limit the amount of alcohol you consume. Make sure you have a good oral hygiene routine. This should include going to the dentist every 6 months, brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing, and using a tongue scraper. Make sure you allow foods to cool before eating them to prevent burning your tongue. Don’t put frozen foods directly on your tongue.