Despite its role in signaling disease, as well as safety, attachment, and quality of life, the diagnosis of taste and smell disorders has, to date, been far from accessible for most patients or routinely employed by most health care providers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought smell and taste dysfunction to mainstream attention. In response, in the past two and a half years, we have seen the development of new taste and smell tests. While this is good news for public health, there are still significant barriers to using these tests in health care settings, making smell screening nearly nonexistent outside a few limited studies.

Thus, we currently have a missed opportunity. Rapid inexpensive smell tests are available yet we have little information being shared among patients, researchers, physicians and public health officials about the need and benefits of monitoring taste and smell function throughout the lifespan.

When we bridge this gap, we will be able to incorporate taste and smell function more widely into research protocols, contribute to new scientific discoveries, and change the course of clinical care – for you and your healthcare provider. For instance, take the field of precision medicine: the status of your taste and smell can significantly impact nutritional health, as smell is a key component of food flavor and, when lost or distorted, significantly alters the food choices people make.