Intraoral currents and taste thresholds.

A group of patients, with oral symptoms such as oral smart, battery taste and mental taste, were examined to study the relationship, if any, between intraoral currents, created at metallic contacts between restorative materials, and taste perception thresholds. The patients were examined with an electrogustometric method for determination of taste threshold levels. Further the intraoral currents were calculated from data obtained at potential and polarization measurements. Comparisons were then between groups of subjects with and without oral symptoms. The results of this study indicate that patients with certain oral symptoms have lower threshold levels for electric taste stimulation than persons in a control group selected at random. No differences were, however, observed between the magnitudes of intraoral currents in the two groups.