Background and Aim: The feeling of a dry mouth may affect individual dietary habits, nutritional status, oral hygiene, speech, and gustatory sensitivity. The present study aimed to specifically investigate gustatory function before and after saliva replacement therapy.Material and Methods: Whole-mouth gustatory function was assessed in 25 patients suffering from xerostomia (6 male, 19 female; age range 42-82 years) before and after 4 to 6 weeks of saliva replacement therapy using a preparation containing carboxymethylcellulose. The results were compared with those from healthy controls matched for age and sex (6 male, 19 female; age range 42-82 years). Using a whole-mouth test, gustatory function was assessed for sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, and caffeine.Results: All subjects detected the four taste qualities at the highest concentration. However, the patients with xerostomia had lower scores in the gustatory test compared with the healthy controls (p