Hi,

Thanks for the query

The bad taste in the mouth (also known as dysgeusia) could be due to various reasons; the commonest causes are dental caries, gastritis, inflammation of the gums and tongue, accumulation of food material in the tonsils, smoking and certain medications.

Our mouth contains numerous taste buds, which are located on and around the tongue, inner part of the cheeks, on the roof of the mouth, on the lips and even over the back of the throat. The altered sense of taste could be due to damaged taste buds (due to smoking) or vitamin or mineral deficiency (B-12 or zinc), dry mouth (due to decrease in the intake of fluids or because of menopause).

It’s also important to know that, there are nerve endings on the tongue that sense irritating or unpleasant sensations located in the nasal region and hence any nasal pathology (such as sinusitis and allergic rhinitis) can also cause dysgeusia.

A bad taste in the mouth could be a sign of an infection also. You require a thorough evaluation to find out the exact cause of your problem. I would suggest you to consult a good ENT specialist as well as a physician for diagnosing your problems.

Till then, try some home remedies such as eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, eating yogurt may help in restoring the normal bacterial balance in the mouth. Drink plenty of warm water; avoid coffee, smoking and alcohol if any.

Hope I have answered your query; I will be available for the follow-up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

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