Dysgeusia due to an orthodontic wire: a case report

A 14-year-old female developed gustatory disorder due to an orthodontic wire having pierced the right trigonal retromolar. The patient's complaints included traction pain on the right lower jaw, numbness on the right front half of the tongue and hypogeusia with the exception of sweet tastes. Possible causes of dysgeusia in this case were: (i) direct mechanical compression of a gustatory nerve by the orthodontic wire; and (ii) disturbance of blood supply to a gustatory nerve by edema that developed in nerve tissues around the wire. The patient's retention of a normal threshold for the recognition of sweet tastes is not fully understood.