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Objective: This cross-sectional study investigated the association between fungiform papillae (FP) numbers and tooth number anomalies in children, considering variables related to hypodontia and hyperdontia. The aim was to explore this association while adjusting for age and sex differences. Materials and methods: A total of 144 children (aged 8–10) were categorized into hypodontia (n = 48), hyperdontia (n = 48), and control groups (n = 48). Clinical and radiographic diagnoses were used to classify tooth number anomalies. Hypodontia was categorized by number and location, while hyperdontia was categorized by number, shape, and location. FP were assessed using the Denver Papillae Protocol. Data analyses were performed using NCSS software, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The hypodontia group (22.5 ± 8.4) exhibited significantly lower FP than the control group (30.4 ± 9.2) and the hyperdontia group (27.9 ± 7.8) (p < 0.0005, p = 0.003, respectively). No significant difference existed between the hyperdontia and control groups. FP numbers in hypodontia subgroups showed no significant differences based on teeth agenesis numbers or locations. Similarly, hyperdontia subgroup analyses revealed no significant differences in FP numbers based on supernumerary teeth shapes (supplemental, conical, tuberculoid, paramolar) or the numbers of supernumerary teeth. Conclusions: The lower FP numbers in children with hypodontia suggested an association between teeth and FP number. However, the non-significant difference in FP numbers with hyperdontia underscored the complexity of tooth development, warranting further investigations. Clinical relevance: Children with hypodontia may exhibit distinct FP numbers compared to those without tooth number anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Fungiform papillae (FP) contain numerous taste buds. A genetic susceptibility between tasting via FP and caries risk has been suggested. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between FP number and dental caries and to determine whether FP number may be considered as a test for caries risk. Materials and methods: The study included 157 children who attended the pediatric dentistry department at a public university. Questionnaires, including the children's medical health, oral health knowledge, fluoride exposure, and taste preferences, were filled in by their parents. The FP number on the dorsal surface of the tongue was counted according to the Denver Papilla Protocol. Caries was recorded using deft/DMFT indices. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS. Results: The FP number decreased significantly according to age (r = −0.441, p = 0.001), and the mean of the girls' FP number was significantly higher than the boys' (p = 0.022). A greater number of FP was associated with increased deft score (p = 0.02, odds ratio [OR] = 1.164). Conclusion: The caries risk increased in children who had more FP (FP > 30); therefore, FP number could be evaluated in terms of caries risk. FP number could be evaluated as a risk factor for determining dental caries since the risk of caries increased after a FP cut-off point of 29 was achieved. Clinical relevance: Clinicians can start preventive treatments for caries earlier by determining the FP number for each child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its contribution to food perception, lingual tactile sensitivity has been understudied. We hypothesized that sensitivity to threshold and suprathreshold tactile stimuli varies in the population and sought to determine proximate sources of variability. Forty-eight adults were tested for lingual threshold sensitivity via a modified letter identification task and suprathreshold sensitivity via estimation of stimulus size using magnitude estimation. In addition, taste bud density on the anterior tip of each panelist's tongue was estimated by counting the number of fungiform papillae in a 0.317 cm circumscribed area. Lingual tactile thresholds were significantly impacted by age group as subjects 40 years or older had higher thresholds than those in their 20s. Moreover, threshold sensitivity increased with increasing fungiform papillae count. Suprathreshold estimates of size were not affected by age group, sex, or fungiform papillae count. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Barth syndrome is a rare X-linked genetic disorder caused by a mutation or deletion of the tafazzin gene. Approximately 50-70% of affected males have family-reported feeding issues that affect eating habits and/or restrict dietary intake. Research to date suggests that these feeding problems may be related to differences in responsivity to taste and smell stimuli. The purpose of this study was to use indices of chemosensory function to study differences in food-related sensation and anatomy in males with and without Barth syndrome. Methodology: A cross-sectional two-group comparison design was used. Participants included 34 males with Barth syndrome between 5 and 34 years of age and 34 age-matched controls. Measures included the number of fungiform papillae on the anterior dorsal surface of the tongue and scores on the Sniffin' Sticks olfactory threshold test. Results: Fungiform papilla counts did not differ significantly between males with and without Barth syndrome, suggesting that altered oral anatomy does not contribute to reported taste and feeding problems in this population. Olfactory thresholds significantly differed between groups; the Barth syndrome sample had a lower threshold for odor detection, indicating greater olfactory sensitivity. These objective measures match self-report data from the Barth syndrome population indicating that they perceive themselves as having a heighted sense of smell compared to others. Conclusions: This study supports previous behavioral research indicating that olfactory sensitivity is heightened in the Barth syndrome population. Although differences in oral anatomy did not occur, previous research suggests that specific oral sensory cues (e.g., bitterness, texture) may be especially salient in Barth syndrome. Implications: Since this is the first study to identify differences in odor threshold in the Barth syndrome population, findings should be corroborated with future research. These efforts should include odor, taste, and tactile cues at both threshold and suprathreshold concentrations. Results suggest, however, that interventions to address feeding and dietary needs of the Barth syndrome population should consider how food-related stimuli can be modified in order to facilitate appetite and reduce food refusal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Taste loss may contribute to the loss of appetite in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other serious medical conditions that result in malnutrition. Traditional methods for measurement of taste loss commonly use aqueous tastant solutions that can induce nausea, vomiting, or even pain in the mouth. An alternative is to measure fungiform papillae density on the anterior tongue since this correlates with taste sensitivity. Here we aimed to develop a non-invasive method for assessing papillae density on the anterior tongue and to use the method to determine if CKD patients [estimated glomerular filtrate (eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m)] have a lower density than clinical controls (CC)(eGFR > 89 ml/min/1.73 m). Methods: Thirty-five healthy adults participated in the development of a method, which was assessed by 24 children, 12 of whom were CKD patients and 12 were clinical controls. Results: Similar papillae densities were found using invasive and non-invasive methods (F = 0.647, p = 0.427). The CKD group had a significantly lower papillae density (X = 7.17, p = 0.007) and poorer taste sensitivity than the CC group ( p = 0.0272), and the density correlated significantly with eGFR ( r = 0.56, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Loss of taste in children with CKD is due to the reduced number of papillae and their taste-sensing receptor cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are five common, independent measures used to characterize taste function in humans: detection and recognition thresholds (DT and RT), suprathreshold intensity ratings of prototypical tastants, propylthiouracil (PROP) bitterness intensity, and fungiform papillae (FP) number. Methods: We employed all five methods to assess taste function of 65 women (21.5 ± 4 years, BMI 22.3 ± 2.8 kg/m). Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between the different measures. Results: The DT and RT were positively correlated for sweet, bitter, sour, and umami ( p < 0.05), but not for salt. The DT or RT did not correlate with suprathreshold intensity ratings, except for umami (suprathreshold intensity and RT: r = −0.32, p = 0.009). FP number did not correlate with any measurement of taste function. PROP bitterness intensity ratings did not correlate with any measurement of taste function, except for suprathreshold ratings for saltiness ( r = 0.26, p = 0.033). Conclusion: As most of the individual measures of taste function did not correlate with each other, with exception of the two threshold measures, we conclude that there are multiple perceptual phases of taste, with no single measure able to represent the sense of taste globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the number, area, circumference, and circularity of lingual fungiform papillae and taste sensitivity in Behçet's disease (BD) and the correlation with the disease. Materials and methods: Eighty-six Behçet's patients and 78 healthy control subjects were examined. After taking digital photographs from the tongue, the fungiform papillae evaluations were performed for the right and left tongue tip sites separately. Taste sense was evaluated with an electrogustometer (EG) from the same sites. Results: The ANOVA test was used to evaluate the fungiform papillae number difference between BD and control groups, and the difference was statistically significant. The fungiform papillae number was significantly reduced in BD, 37.93 % at the left site and 40.13 % at the right site compared to controls. There was no significant difference in papillae area, circumference, circularity, and EG measurements between BD and control group. Conclusion: According to these findings, it is conceivable that the reduction of the fungiform papillae number could be a sign of BD. Clinical relevance: BD has different clinical features that are used for the diagnosis. This study provided a new possible clinical feature. Further studies should be carried out to investigate the usability of this new clinical feature for the diagnosis of BD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate differences in gustatory function in smokers of both sexes and identify any differences in the shape, density and vascularisation of the fungiform papillae (fPap) of smokers' tongue. Additional aim was to investigate any relation between the age, pack years and differences in shape, density, vascularization of fPap and sex. In 166 smokers (81 males, 85 females, age range 20-80 years), divided in age groups, electrogustometry (EGM) thresholds at the chorda tympani area, at the soft palate area and at the area of the vallate papillae were recorded bilaterally. Morphology and density of the fPap and blood vessels' density and morphology at the tip of the tongue were examined using contact endoscopy (CE). EGM thresholds of all smoking subjects tended to increase compared to the non-smoking participants. Morphology, vascularization and density of fPap were found to be worse in smokers than in non-smokers. Interestingly, some participants, despite having increased number of pack years, tended to have almost similar EGM thresholds with non-smoking subjects of the same age group. Smoking tends to affect density, morphology and vascularization of the fPap. There is a correlation between the duration of smoking (pack years) and the afore-mentioned parameters. The use of τ-Kendall criterion provided useful information about the different correlation between the EGM thresholds and vascularization, the EGM thresholds and morphology of fPap and EGM thresholds and density of fPap. The majority of smokers had elevated EGM thresholds compared to non-smokers. Smoking is an important factor which can lead to decreased taste acuity. The combination of methods, such as EGM and CE, can provide useful information about the morphology and function of taste buds. Of interest, women are less affected than men, irrespective of the age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taste and oral sensations vary in humans. Some of this variation has a genetic basis, and two commonly measured phenotypes are the bitterness of propylthiouracil (PROP) and the number of fungiform papillae on the anterior tongue. While the genetic control of fungiform papilla is unclear, PROP bitterness associates with allelic variation in the taste receptor gene, TAS2R38. The two common alleles are AVI and PAV (proline, alanine, valine, and isoleucine); AVI/AVI homozygotes taste PROP as less bitter than heterozygous or homozygous PAV carriers. In this laboratory-based study, we determined whether taste of a bitter probe (quinine) and vegetable intake varied by taste phenotypes and TAS2R38 genotype in healthy adults (mean age = 26 years). Vegetable intake was assessed via two validated, complementary methods: food records (Food Pyramid servings standardized to energy intake) and food frequency questionnaire (general intake question and composite vegetable groups). Quinine bitterness varied with phenotypes but not TAS2R38; quinine was more bitter to those who tasted PROP as more bitter or had more papillae. Nontasters by phenotype or genotype reported greater consumption of vegetables, regardless of type (i.e., the effect generalized to all vegetables and was not restricted to those typically thought of as being bitter). Furthermore, nontasters with more papillae reported greater vegetable consumption than nontasters with fewer papillae, suggesting that when bitterness does not predominate, more papillae enhance vegetable liking. These findings suggest that genetic variation in taste, measured by multiple phenotypes or TAS2R38 genotype, can explain differences in overall consumption of vegetables, and this was not restricted to vegetables that are predominantly bitter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taste affects dietary behavior and in turn taste response and food preferences are altered in eating disorders. Fungiform papillae on the tongue are the first line of the gustatory apparatus to provide information about taste. Aim of this study is determination of their number in patients with eating disorders. Twenty-seven female adolescents with eating disorders and 16 age-matched healthy female controls were examined. Tongues were stained with blue food coloring and the number of fungiform papillae was quantified using digital photography and image processing. Patients with restrictive type eating disorders showed a more distinct reduction ( p < 0.001) of fungiform papillae than patients with vomiting and/or binge eating ( p < 0.05), compared with those of healthy control subjects. Causes may be an initially disturbed development of fungiform papillae or secondary to changes in eating behavior which may be mutually causative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taste buds in fungiform papillae of the mouse were examined with transmission electron microscopy and computer-assisted, three-dimensional reconstructions from serial ultrathin sections. In accord with observation by Murray (1971), four distinct cell types, type I, II, III and basal cells, were identified. Of these, only the type III cell made synaptic contacts with nerve terminals and contained both small, clear vesicles and dense-cored granules. The former vesicles were synaptic-type and accumulated in the cytoplasm just below the synaptic in membrane thickenings. This finding clearly indicates a sensory function for the type III cell. One to three type III cells were identified within a taste bud. The type III cell had at most eight synapses with nerve terminals. One nerve fiber making two synapses with the type III cell was occasionally observed in its terminal region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hitherto undescribed cell type within the fungiform papillae of the tongue of the toad, Bufo bufo (L.) and the taste-disks of the soft palate of Bombina variegata L. was identified by means of scanning and transmission electron microscopy. This cell type is characterized by an apical protrusion carrying numerous microvilli. Bundles of filaments are present in the cytoplasm of the protrusion. Vesicles with electron lucent content and microtubules are present throughout the cytoplasm of the cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]