Just as a clarification about taste--there are five basic tastes (they fairly recently identified the fifth one, David, within the last few years) They are sweet sour, salty, bitter and what is usually described as "savory" (related to fully tasting meat especially). Everything else that we experience as taste is actually smell and taste combined. Which is why those of us who have some of our taste buds destroyed can benefit, when eating, from inhaling the scent of whatever we're eating as we go--it helps to feel as though we're experiencing taste better since most of us have our sense of smell intact.

And there are indeed different parts of the tongue that have more sensitivity to the 5 different tastes. This is easily demonstrated by having a person (with a normal tongue) dip a q-tip in salt water or lemon juice or somehting sweet and see how strongly the taste comes across on different parts of the tongue (and I know this because I do this demonstration in my Intro. Psych class every semester).

I think I have gotten almost all my sense of taste back although I have a very sensitive tongue and so am quite limited in what I can eat because so many things "burn"(very sugary things, anything with vinegar, anything with orange, pineapple or strawberry juice). Interestingly I can eat things that have a little bite from pepper (black or hot peppers) without any extreme pain. Go figure.

Nelie

FYI: The "hot" factor of peppers is capsacin(SP?) which is a pain killer. The pepper numbs your tongue that is why you can tolerate it. However, I would not recommend dipping strawberries in Tabasco, oranges maybe.

LOL! I'm not pushing the hot part. I don't think I could tolerate something really really hot but there is a soup I like that has a little hot pepper bite to it and it doesn't bother me.

Alcohol of any sort, on the other hand, feels like pure fire in my mouth.

Interesting how we all are slightly different. My tolerance for spiciness is still not what it was before the treatment, but I can now handle regular toothpaste and other things like it, which I could not do for awhile after treatment. Change is the only constant . . .

heh. I forgot to mention that anything with mint in it also makes my mouth burn--most regular toothpastes are impossible. It is interesting how everyone is different!

I have only recently been able to put aside the expensive Biotene toothpaste in exchange for a cheaper one. I find that Arm and Hammer with baking soda, regular flavor, is quite tolerable. Some brands were bad about burning the mouth which is why Biotene was so good for. I was going through a $5 plus tube of Biotene every few days it seemed like and just began experimenting around with others.

Bill D.

You know all I have heard about is biotene but it burns my mouth. I am most definatly going to try arm and hammer baking soda. Thanks

Bill,

You must have ONE BIG TOOTHBRUSH. LOL

I still do daily fluoride Txs which I started a month prior to radiation and I still use Biotene toothpaste and I guess I will until my dentist says otherwise. My dentist raves about my teeth and gums so I don't want to risk doing something that may change that.

The reason Biotene is expensive (best place to get it is a WalMart) is that it has the same natural enzymes in it that are found in your (now missing) saliva. What those enzymes do is reduce bacterial counts that cause periodontal disease, and other bad issues in your mouth. Baking soda may not burn, but it does not help you defend yourself against the bad flora, and it does not have flouride, which if you are disciplined (most are not) about using your trays every night is not important. If you are going to eliminate the toothpaste from them, you should at least use their mouthwash (again has enzymes) after your baking soda ritual.

Brian is right about why Biotene is better than other toothpastes and moutwashes. There are different types of biotene too. Try the Biotene gel toothpaste if the other burns your mouth. I find the gel is OK and irritates less. I also rinse several times a day with the moutwash even though it burns and I am using a fluoride rinse (not by Biotene) in the evening and morning that is minty and seems to burn for a few seconds then the burn lets up (I had to experiemnt with flouride treatments to find something that would work-the original gel I was given became too painful).

I've just resigned myself to a certain amount of mouth pain every day as a consequence of taking care of my teeth!