My husband can't taste anything. He smells cigarette smoke but no one is smoking. Can anyone help?

At least two kinds of dementia involve loss of ability to smell, and that indeed makes a huge difference in ability to taste. The fact that your husband's impairment came right after the dental procedure seems unlikely to be coincidence, however, and if I were a betting person, I'd place my bet on that as the cause. Keeping an eye out for any other odd occurrences that might be associated with dementia is prudent, but don't expend any worry over that possibility.

My husband, a real foodie, was really bummed that he couldn't taste food so well without a sense of smell. Things that helped were serving spicy foods very spicy, sweet foods very sweet, sour foods very sour -- in other words exaggerating the tastes in foods. Also focusing on texture helped. Some crisp food, some smooth food, some soft, etc. to keep the meal interesting.

From what other posters have said here, it sounds like your husband's problem may be temporary. I sincerely hope that is the case!

Let us know how this all works out. We learn from each other.

Yes, it would definitely be from a shot where they hit the nerve and that causes damage. If they use some kind of gas, it wouldn't be hitting any nerves. I'd call your dentist and explain what is going on to see what he/she says. Good luck!!

Thanks wasn't sure if it was the same. Good to know.

Losing, a numbing agent can and I believe is considered anesthesia.

I appreciate everyone for taking the time to give some feedback.

Gardenartist My husband hasn't started any new medications nor is he on what you asked about. I did read medication could be the cause but what he is on he has been on for years. I guess this is why I keep going back to the tooth being removed. Actually they didn't use anesthesia though. They just gave him shots to numb the area. Does this give you anymore to go on? Probably not probably takes away :( I am really lost.

Thanks Blannie. I Google when this f irst started and was getting so many things it could be till I guess I gave up. I think he started with smelling cigarette smell first then lost his taste buds. One thing I read said he probably really didn't lose his taste buds but rather his smell. Blowing my mind. How can you smell smoke if you can't smell.

After I stopped smoking, I had the ducts cleaned to try to eliminate that source of the smoke smell in the house. You might want to do this, as it's healthy to do so anyway, as it removes allergens and dust/minute debris buildup in the duct work. However, if there was a smoker in the house, you may need to have the carpets cleaned and the walls washed to remove the nicotine and eliminate the odor. I'd do the duct cleaning, then carpet cleaning first, as the less expensive measure of having walls and ceilings washed, saving that for a last resort. I hope your husband's taste and smell senses will soon return to normal. Good luck. Kathy G.

GardenArtist, I don't recall smelling cigarettes, but I remember the whole incident scared the heck out of me.

There is a thing called "phantom smell" where someone smells something that isn't there.... the good thing is that eventually it will go away without needing any treatment :)

Or the smell could be because we are all now starting to use our furnaces due to the cooler weather... some forced air furnaces will blow out a burning smell which is the dust in the furnace. Some people can really smell it [I do] and others don't even notice it.

You might want to contact the dentist who removed the tooth, ask what anesthesia was used, and check it out for the side effects Blannie mentioned.

FF, I wasn't aware that tooth whitening toothpaste could cause that kind of an issue. Did you smell smoke as well?

Losing, did your husband ever take Amiodarone for a cardiac condition? It can cause loss of taste and smell. I don't know whether it could be triggered or accelerated by anesthesia, though.

Any chance hubby is using a tooth whitening toothpaste? That happened to me, once I got rid of the toothpaste everything started to come back to normal.

I just googled it and the three cases that I read about, all of the people had their taste return to normal, but it took between three months and a year. Evidently there can be nerve damage during the anesthesia process and it takes a while for the nerves to regenerate. Good luck with your husband. I'd talk to his dentist, to see if he has any ideas about treatments or ways to help. Does your husband have dementia?