Salivary Carbonic Anhydrase VI and Gustatory Function Among Adults Assessed After Orthognathic Surgery: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study
- 1Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, Prince Sattam Bin Abdullaziz University, Al-Kharj 16273, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Biological determinants of interindividual variation in gustatory function following orthognathic surgery remain poorly understood. This study investigated the association between salivary carbonic anhydrase VI (CA VI; gustin) concentration and objective whole-mouth gustatory function. Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional study included 100 adults following orthognathic surgery at three centers. Whole-mouth taste-recognition thresholds for sweet, salty, sour, and bitter stimuli were categorized from C1 (greatest sensitivity) to C6 (poorest sensitivity). Unstimulated salivary CA VI concentration and flow rate were measured under standardized conditions. Separate proportional-odds ordinal logistic regression models assessed associations between CA VI and each taste threshold, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, salivary flow rate, postoperative interval, and surgical territory. Associations were expressed as adjusted odds ratios (aORs) per doubling of CA VI, with Holm correction across four primary outcomes. Results: Higher CA VI was associated with better thresholds for sweet (aOR 2.18, 95% CI 1.30–3.65; p = 0.007), salty (2.89, 1.67–4.99; p < 0.001), sour (1.95, 1.14–3.32; p = 0.014), and bitter (2.87, 1.66–4.96; p < 0.001) stimuli. Estimates remained similar after center adjustment. Linear sensitivity analyses confirmed associations for sweet, salty, and bitter tastes, whereas the association for sour was less robust. The bitter-taste association persisted in a bias-reduced continuation-ratio model (aOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.50–3.66). Conclusions: Higher salivary CA VI was associated with better objective whole-mouth taste-recognition sensitivity across four modalities among adults assessed after orthognathic surgery. CA VI may represent a candidate biological correlate of gustatory function; causality and postoperative change cannot be inferred.
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BibTeX
@article{alenazi2026salivary,
title = {{Salivary Carbonic Anhydrase VI and Gustatory Function Among Adults Assessed After Orthognathic Surgery: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study}},
author = {Adel Alenazi},
journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/jcm15218670},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8670},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Salivary Carbonic Anhydrase VI and Gustatory Function Among Adults Assessed After Orthognathic Surgery: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study
AU - Adel Alenazi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Journal of Clinical Medicine
DO - 10.3390/jcm15218670
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8670
AB - Background/Objectives: Biological determinants of interindividual variation in gustatory function following orthognathic surgery remain poorly understood. This study investigated the association between salivary carbonic anhydrase VI (CA VI; gustin) concentration and objective whole-mouth gustatory function. Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional study included 100 adults following orthognathic surgery at three centers. Whole-mouth taste-recognition thresholds for sweet, salty, sour, and bitter stimuli were categorized from C1 (greatest sensitivity) to C6 (poorest sensitivity). Unstimulated salivary CA VI concentration and flow rate were measured under standardized conditions. Separate proportional-odds ordinal logistic regression models assessed associations between CA VI and each taste threshold, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, salivary flow rate, postoperative interval, and surgical territory. Associations were expressed as adjusted odds ratios (aORs) per doubling of CA VI, with Holm correction across four primary outcomes. Results: Higher CA VI was associated with better thresholds for sweet (aOR 2.18, 95% CI 1.30–3.65; p = 0.007), salty (2.89, 1.67–4.99; p < 0.001), sour (1.95, 1.14–3.32; p = 0.014), and bitter (2.87, 1.66–4.96; p < 0.001) stimuli. Estimates remained similar after center adjustment. Linear sensitivity analyses confirmed associations for sweet, salty, and bitter tastes, whereas the association for sour was less robust. The bitter-taste association persisted in a bias-reduced continuation-ratio model (aOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.50–3.66). Conclusions: Higher salivary CA VI was associated with better objective whole-mouth taste-recognition sensitivity across four modalities among adults assessed after orthognathic surgery. CA VI may represent a candidate biological correlate of gustatory function; causality and postoperative change cannot be inferred.
SN - 2077-0383
ER -