Taste and other neurosensory defects have been reported postoperatively in a number of patients who have undergone mandibular third molar extraction (TME). Although the taste deficits are generally believed to resolve within a year, the long-term effects of TME remain unknown. We retrospectively examined the whole-mouth taste function of 891 individuals who had received TMEs, on average, more than 2 decades earlier, and 364 individuals who had not undergone TME. All had been extensively tested for chemosensory function at the University of Pennsylvania Smell and Taste Center over the course of the last 20 years. The whole-mouth identification test incorporated 2 presentations each of 5 different concentrations of sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, and caffeine. Analyses of covariance (age = covariate) found those with histories of TME to exhibit better overall test scores for all 4 taste qualities than nonoperated controls. Such scores were not associated with the time since the TME. In both groups, women outperformed men and function declined with age. The basis of this phenomenon, which requires confirmation from prospective studies, is unknown, but could reflect sensitization of CN VII nerve afferents or the partial release of the tonic inhibition that CN VII exerts on CN IX via central nervous system processes.

中文翻译：

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第三摩尔提取物对味觉功能的长期积极影响

许多接受下颌第三磨牙拔除 (TME) 的患者在术后发现味觉和其他神经感觉缺陷。尽管人们普遍认为味觉缺陷会在一年内解决，但 TME 的长期影响仍然未知。我们回顾性地检查了 20 多年前平均接受过 TME 的 891 名个体和未接受过 TME 的 364 名个体的全口味觉功能。在过去的 20 年里，所有这些都在宾夕法尼亚大学嗅觉和味觉中心进行了广泛的化学感应功能测试。全口识别测试包含 5 种不同浓度的蔗糖、氯化钠、柠檬酸和咖啡因中的每一种的 2 次展示。协方差分析（年龄 = 协变量）发现，那些有 TME 病史的人在所有 4 种口味质量方面的总体测试分数都比非手术对照组好。这些分数与自 TME 以来的时间无关。在这两组中，女性的表现都优于男性，并且随着年龄的增长而功能下降。这种需要前瞻性研究证实的现象的基础尚不清楚，但可能反映了 CN VII 神经传入的敏感性或 CN VII 通过中枢神经系统过程对 CN IX 施加的强直抑制的部分释放。