Geriatric nutrition: the role of taste and smell in appetite.

Proper nutrition is essential to the health of the oral tissues, and healthy tissues enhance prosthodontic treatment of the elderly. All dentists should be prepared to offer dietary advice to this expanding population. Taste and smell are essential to proper nutrition. In the elderly the peripheral sensory receptors decline, causing the appetite to wane. Taste and aroma are inextricably intertwined in determining the palatability and acceptance of food. For example, during an upper respiratory infection, the olfactory receptors are blocked. Food becomes tasteless; it loses both flavor and aroma and the appetite declines. As a result of aging, the taste buds on the tongue and the olfactory receptors in the roof of the nasal cavity regress. In addition, the gustatory and olfactory nuclei in the brain decline, causing a reduction in appetite and diet.