mundfornemmelse

Mundfornemmelse is a Danish term that refers to the overall sensory experience in the mouth when interacting with food, drinks, or dental appliances. It encompasses gustation (taste), retronasal olfaction, and somatosensory input such as texture, temperature, moisture, and pain, as well as proprioceptive feedback from the lips, tongue, jaw, and teeth. The perception of taste is mediated by taste receptors on the tongue and palate and is transmitted to the brain by several cranial nerves, while general orofacial somatosensation relies on the trigeminal nerve. The combination of taste and texture, together with aroma via retronasal olfaction, forms what is often described as mouthfeel.

In practice, mundfornemmelse is important for food enjoyment, nutrition, and safety, as well as for dental care and prosthetics. Alterations can accompany aging, medications, dehydration, or disease and may include dysgeusia (distorted taste), hypogeusia (reduced taste), ageusia (loss of taste), or xerostomia (dry mouth) that reduces lubrication and sensory clarity.

Measurement and evaluation are used in both food science and clinical settings, including taste tests, oral sensory profiling, and patient-reported symptom scales. Understanding mundfornemmelse helps explain why foods with similar ingredients can be perceived differently by individuals and why dental appliances can affect comfort, palatability, and appetite.