Bonnie,
I'm 4 years out, had IMRT and have all of my taste and most salivary function back. It took over 18 months for the salivary function to fully return. My sweet tooth is just fine and eating is normal, no trismus either. But it was no walk in the park during and immediately after Tx but you'll get through it one day at a time. For me, it was my only Tx (with ct). I also kept all of my teeth and still have all of them.

There may be some permanent side effects from the radiation. About 2 years post Tx I started having regular muscle spasms from the radiation damage to the neck muscle. Not really a big deal - Valium and Codiene fix it up just fine when I need it, which is not all that often.