If your mouth is sweet because of honey it is a good feeling but when it is always sweet it could be bad. Even though persistence of sweet taste in the mouth is not a serious concern of health problem it is a good idea to consult a doctor.
If you have a feeling that the sweet taste could be because of diabetes, you may be correct. High sugar levels in the blood may cause a sweet taste in the mouth. Keep reading to know more about the sweet taste facts of your mouth and their complications.
Sweet taste can make you happy but if you have the only sweet taste all the time it loses its value. Like life, you cannot have sweet time all the time. So if there is a sweet taste in mouth all the time it could be of simple reasons like a taste impairment, vitamin B12 deficiency, dental, ENT problems or because of some serious issues like diabetes or even cancer. Hence if you have constant sweet taste in your mouth for a prolonged time visit your doctor.
TASTE:
Taste is one of the five senses that belong to the gustatory system.
The five traditional senses are:
- Sweetness
- Sourness
- Saltiness
- Bitterness
- Savoriness
The gustatory system is the sensory system responsible for the perception of taste. This system is comprised of taste cells in the mouth with several cranial nerves and the gustatory cortex. This is why taste is also known as gustatory perception or gustation.
When the food or other substances in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor cells taste sensation occurs. These cells are located on the taste buds in the oral cavity of the tongue.
There are thousands of taste buds in the tongue, throat and on the sides of the mouth, and in each bud, there are 50 -100 taste receptor cells. Taste buds can distinguish the different tastes through interaction with different molecules or ions. The sweet taste is triggered by the binding of molecules to G protein-coupled receptor cells.
CAUSES OF SWEET TASTE IN MOUTH:
The causes for constant sweet taste may differ from minor to major reasons as per the health conditions of your body. If it is of a minor reason it will be gone in a few days and if it is constant sweet taste continuously for more days it could be of major reasons.
Minor causes of sweet taste in mouth:
The sweet taste of the mouth could be because of taste impairment. This means that there is an issue with your ability to taste.
Common causes of sweet taste in the mouth:
- Nasal infection due to a cold or flu
- Ear infections
- Side effects of any medications like chemotherapy drugs
- Side effects of smoking pipes
- Exposure to certain chemicals mainly insecticides
- Dental problems:
- Bad oral hygiene habits could cause a sweet taste in the mouth. When the food left overnight in the mouth produce some acids. This makes the saliva sweet the next day.
Major causes of sweet taste in mouth:
Some major causes of sweet taste in the mouth may be due to the underlying ailment.
Diabetes:
Diabetes prevents the renal metabolism of insulin thereby affecting the body’ s use of insulin. Uncontrolled diabetes results in high levels of blood sugar. This sometimes causes constant and continuous sweet taste of the mouth.
Diets:
In this fast-moving world health-conscious world, everyone is talking and practicing diet. But some improper or wrong diet could result in some undesirable effects on the health. One of which is the sweet taste of the mouth.
A research conducted on a group of men feeding them with improper and inappropriate diets with a dietary deficiency for 60 days. 80 % of them complained of sweet taste in their mouth and the rest 20 said they experienced changes in their taste including safety, salty and fatty taste.
Also, another study found that Vitamin B, folic acid and zinc deficiency in the human body caused strange changes in taste.
It was also found that the low carb dieting persons develop a similar sweet and fruity taste in the mouth. Since carbohydrates form the main source of fuel in the body and being deprived of it could result in the body burning the fat instead for energy. The ketones produced by this process causes the sweet taste in the mouth.
Neurological disorders:
One sweet news about sweet taste in the mouth is they are the symptom of serious neurological disorders. The neurological disorders hinder the normal functions of gustatory nerve in sending signals from the brain. Because of this, you cannot feel the variety of taste except for getting only a sweet taste in the mouth.
The following are the neurological disorders which can be identified by the sweet taste symptom:
- Stroke
- Seizures or Epilepsy
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Brain tumor
- Multiple sclerosis
Infections:
Infections to various parts of the body could cause the sweet taste in the mouth. This is because of the bad impact of virus and bacteria on the nerves.
Infection caused by a bacterium called Pseudomonas causes pseudomonas infection which results in sinusitis causing inflammation of the sinuses and also sweet taste in the mouth.
Infection to the olfactory system which is responsible for smell can result in sweet taste in the mouth. This is because the infections affect the airways and interfere with the response of the brain to the taste senses.
Infections causing cold and flu may cause the saliva to have more glucose which causes a sweet taste in the mouth.
Viremia:
This is one infection-related serious condition. When you are infected with a virus they penetrate into our main bloodstream. Because of this, they can reach each and every tissue within our body.
Depending on the immune system of the body the virus advancement can be stopped within days. Even after the destruction of the virus, some viral particles entered into the cells of the parotid glands in the mouth and the serous glands alter the DNA process.
The alteration by this DNA process in the cells of these glands can disrupt and inhibit the growth and maturation of the olfactory epithelial cells and taste buds. This results in the sweet taste of the mouth.
GERD:
Gastroesophageal reflux disorder is characterized by sweet taste in the mouth. A study by gastroenterologists confirms that people with GERD like to sip sweet foods or drinks usually after taking food.
GERD is caused by stomach acid imbalance. Due to GERD, the digestive enzymes are pushed back to the food pipe, throat, and voice box. This backflow is said to be because of the sweet taste in the mouth.
Pregnancy:
Pregnancy is second birth to women with so many complications including sweet taste in the mouth. The hormone level changes and the digestive system are the culprits for this.
7 % of pregnant women across the world are affected by GERD. Other risk factors should be considered for sweet taste include:
- Obesity
- A family history of diabetes
- Pre-diabetes before pregnancy
- Previous gestational diabetes
- Pregnancy over 25 years of age
- A previous macrocosmic infant of 4.5 kg or 10 pounds
Cancer:
Sweet taste in the mouth is caused in cancer patients by SIADH or the Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion. This causes the sodium depletion known as hyponatremia which can alter the taste and cause a constant sweet taste in the mouth.
Lung cancer is common cancer to have a sweet taste in the mouth. This is because of tumors in the lung or respiratory tract can affect the hormone levels to change the taste of the mouth.
This symptom detected earlier could even save lives.
Gustatory disorders:
If you are always with a sweet taste in the mouth it could be also of gustatory disorders which could lead to loss of appetite, poor nutrition, and weakened immunity.
SYMPTOMS OF SWEET TASTE IN THE MOUTH:
Sweet taste in the mouth is a symptom of some ailment in the body. It could be of various causes and as per the causes, the other symptoms will be shown by the body. The severity of the symptoms increases with the increase in the disease level in the body.
The common symptoms are:
- Even without eating any sweet, presence of persistent sweet taste in the mouth.
- The ability to taste the sweetness of foods reduced.
- Changed food habits – eating more or less
- Significant weight loss or gain
DIAGNOSIS OF SWEET TASTE IN THE MOUTH:
Most of the causes of sweet taste in the mouth are associated with the olfactory and respiratory systems. The other underlying ailments are diabetics or hormone disorder of the endocrine system and neurological issues. So according to the cause found by the general physician, he may direct you to see one of the following three specialists:
- An ENT specialist (Ear Nose Throat) also known as Otolaryngologist
- An Endocrinologist (Specialist in the endocrine system controlling the hormone imbalance)
- A Neurologist
The specialist doctors will recommend you to undergo certain diagnostic tests to find out the cause of the sweet taste in the mouth which include:
Blood tests to check for bacterial and viral infections
Blood tests to check hormone and blood sugar levels
Brain scans to check neurological activity and nerve damage
An endoscopy is done to check the signs of digestive disorders
CT or MRI scans to check the lungs for cancer
Gustatory test:
The tests for evaluating olfactory functions have been standardized for the past two decades. But in the case of gustatory functions, the objective and psychophysical tests are still in the offing.
Even though there is some progress in objective taste testing and simple fast scans for gustatory function, debates are still going on its implementation.
Also, the classification of quantitative and qualitative disorders is ascertained. The quantitative disorders are hypogeusia and ageusia which are partial and total taste loss. The qualitative disorders are dysgeusia which is a general term for distorted or bad taste even without any eating or permanently present. The quantitative disorders of taste loss could be measured but the qualitative disorder of distorted taste still relies upon the precise description of the patients alone.
“Sip, spit and rinse” test:
This is also a gustatory test under research and only implemented in certain cases for evaluating the gustatory functions.
Different tastes are made to be compared by you to ascertain the extent of the gustatory disorder. It could be initially just a wherein the different tastes are made to be sipped and spat out followed by rinsing.
Edible strip tests:
The edible taste strips are assayed with fluorescence to highlight the tastes of the mouth is used to conduct these gustatory functions.
Edible strips are prepared from pullulan-hydroxypropyl methylcellulose solutions which are dried to a thin film. The representative taste stimuli for each type of tastant is added to identify the maximum amount of tastant.
Edible taste strips are a highly sensitive method for examining taste recognition thresholds in humans. This should be widely applied to be tested even in remote locations to find out the cause of sweet taste in the mouth.
Also, a CT scan is done to check if the nerves in the oral area or head are affected.
Once the correct cause of the unusual taste in the mouth is determined, the doctor will direct you to one of the following specialists depending upon the cause.
The specialist will confirm the cause and chalk out a treatment plan to keep the sweet taste in the mouth in check.
TREATMENT FOR SWEET TASTE IN THE MOUTH:
The doctor after isolating the cause of sweet taste in the mouth will give proper treatment for it. Treatment for the constant sweet taste in the mouth mostly depends on the underlying cause of an ailment.
Treatment to taste impairment for permanent and temporary taste losses:
The taste impairment could be temporary in the case of the following ailments which could be treated accordingly and gain the taste back.
Diabetes could be controlled with insulin and proper lifestyle and food habits
Infections could be cured with antibiotics
Neurological disorders could be treated with proper medications and suitable exercises
But for some who have permanent taste disorder also have some good news. The scientists are working on the gustatory cells which are the cells in the human body which are regularly replaced. Hence in future, the taste disorder could not be permanent.
Alternative treatments for sweet taste in mouth:
Alternative treatments are given to sweet taste in mouth according to the condition of it. They may reduce the constant sweetness to a good level.
- Antacids
- Probiotics like yogurt, miso soup, and others
- Digestive issue treatments
- To consume more lean protein, fresh veggies, and fruits
- Reducing the intake of sugar, unhealthy fats, and processed food
- Antibiotics
- Proper dental care including proper brushing twice a day and a visit to the dentist once a year.
Prevention is better than cure is an adage which clearly applies to the sweet taste in the mouth. A sweet taste in the mouth could be overlooked by many but over time it could cause a lot of complications, some very severe like cancer. Hence to live life safely and with awareness of everything in our life is good. This will help to stay away from ICU or in the hospital beds and instead spend the time happily with the loved ones for a long time.
.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41086917_Gustatory_testing_for_clinicians
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2823587/