You love dill pickles, but your spouse can't stand them. Your daughter adores chocolate but can't handle even the smell of your black licorice. The range of likes and dislikes among human taste buds is enormous.

We really do have different reactions to certain flavors, and they can be as varied as our personalities. Some people have many more taste buds than their peers, and they're known as "supertasters" (these tend to be women). Others have fewer buds. Some tastes, however, are learned. Most of us prefer sweet flavors. Coffee and other bitter tastes are generally acquired.

Some foods are actually easier to taste than others. Because hot foods give off steam, the nose picks up the aroma and enhances the sense of taste. On the other hand, heat will increase the bitterness of some foods as well -- broccoli, for instance.

In spite of what you may have been told, your taste is not all in your tongue either. In fact, there are taste buds inside the cheeks, on the roof of the mouth, and in the throat. These buds contain nerves which analyze flavors. The olfactory sense (smell) contributes to this complex process to allow us to enjoy certain foods and reject others.

Of course, all this is simply interesting trivia until something goes wrong. Taste disorders are very annoying and serious to those they affect. They can be caused by certain diseases and mineral deficiencies, among other problems. Many people believe that the sense of taste diminishes with age, but this isn't necessarily true. Most healthy seniors retain their sense of taste, but they may have a reduced sense of smell, which can affect their appreciation of certain flavors.

Lick a postage stamp and you could be telling scientists not only who you are, but whether you're predisposed to certain diseases. Recent research has uncovered much more DNA information in saliva than was previously anticipated. The best news is that saliva is a promising replacement for blood when doing future DNA testing.

At this time, a few diseases, including respiratory diseases that affect children, lupus, and a particular periodontal disease that occurs in juveniles, are linked to genes that can be found in saliva.

Researchers hope that, eventually, genes for Alzheimer's, breast cancer, adult periodontal disease, and cystic fibrosis may be discovered in saliva.

Another reason for wanting to use saliva in testing rather than blood is that so many patients are reluctant to give blood. Drawing blood is invasive compared to giving saliva. Children are generally uncomfortable giving blood, and some adult patients have religious or other reasons for not wanting to do so. Practical reasons for using saliva include ease of collection and storage. Saliva can be obtained from large populations in sufficient quantities for extensive studies.

Some parents are absolutely against pacifier use. Others aren't sure what's best for their child, and they ask us what they should do. The truth is that there's nothing wrong with pacifiers during the first three years of life. In fact, they may be preferable over finger-sucking habits.

WHY A PACIFIER?
First, babies are comforted by sucking, and it may actually strengthen certain mouth muscles. When this happens, the tongue and lips are better able to guide in the baby teeth which will then guide the permanent teeth.

Maybe even more importantly, most children will give up their pacifiers by the age of three--the most tenacious by the age of five.

On the other hand, those who suck their fingers or thumbs may continue this habit past age five and some until the age of nine. At these late ages, this habit most likely will lead to orthodontic problems.

GIVING IT UP
By the age of 2 1/2, it's time to start thinking about giving up the "passy." A good first step is to limit pacifier use to certain times or activities. Bedtime and traveling usually require some comforting, so don't take the pacifier away during these activities. Eventually, limit pacifier use to bedtime only. By age three, it may be advisable to "lose" the pacifier and encourage the child to live without it. There's bound to be some fussing in response to this, but after a few days you should find that your child is pacifier-free.