Burning mouth syndrome: epidemiology, diagnosis and modern treatment standards.

Abstract

Introduction A burning sensation in the mouth is one of the reasons for visiting a doctor. Often, the doctor does not identify any pathological changes in the oral mucosa, and as a result, the patient is often referred to other physicians, which causes prolongation of the suffering and uncertainty due to the lack of diagnosis. Objective The aim of the study was as a reminder and to sum-up knowledge about burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Brief description of the state of knowledge BMS is an intraoral burning sensation that occurs within the oral mucosa despite the absence of pathological changes. Symptoms can occur every day for more than 3 months, and last more than 2 hours per day. Symptoms typically involve the tongue (67.9%), usually 2/3 of its frontal part. Pain may also affect the mucosa of the entire mouth. The incidence ratio for males and females ranges from 1: 5–1: 7 and increases with age for both genders, especially for women in the perimenopausal period. BMS is a multifactorial disease. There are many known local, systemic, and psychological factors that can cause the disease. The average delay in making the correct diagnosis is from 34–41 months. Only 3% of patients have a spontaneous remission of symptoms within 5 years of onset of disease. Conclusions Burning mouth syndrome is a chronic pain condition of unknown cause. The diagnosis of BMS involves the exclusion of other disease entities that could be the cause of pain. Currently, there is no effective, safe, and confirmed diagnostic and therapeutic procedure.

Keywords

• neuralgia
• xerostomy
• burning of the tongue
• burning of the mouth
• changes in taste