Objectives : The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between salivary flow, palate recognition threshold, DMFT index and oral health influence point (OHIP-14) of the adults over 40 years old. Methods : Salivary flow and taste recognition threshold were measured in 220 adults over 40 years old from three dental clinics in Daegu from January 3 to February 4, 2012. A total of 208 questionnaires were analyzed.

The purpose of this study was to measure using a six-step solution for taste recognition threshold and using a Wet-Test for salivary flow amount of the adults who reside in Daegu area and are more than their 40's old to find out the relationship between DMFT index and OHIP-14. The study result revealed that the practice of oral health gave an effect to taste recognition threshold, dietary habit gave an effect to salivary flow amount, and sweet and sour taste of taste recognition threshold and salivary flow amount gave effects to the DMFT index. Therefore, it was found that the person with good practice of oral health and dietary habit had good taste, salivary flow amount and DMFT index. According to this result, it is necessary to increase the practice of oral health, increase the sensitivity to taste recognition threshold, improve dietary habit, increase salivary flow amount and decrease DMFT index in order to improve OHIP-14. Dietary habit education has been performed without the evaluation on the individual's level of taste recognition threshold. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the education program to measure and notify the taste recognition threshold in the oral health education so that individual can adjust it by himself.