Merits of Oil Pulling Therapy in the Management of Xerostomia and Stomatopyrosis in Burning Mouth Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) is a condition which is characterised by xerostomia, stomatopyrosis, dysgeusia and primarily affects the women of perimenopausal age. Despite the plethora of trials that have been going on since decades for management of this condition, there seems to be no definitive cure till date, which is mainly attributed to the ambiguity of this condition. Oil pulling is a simple, ancient technique which can be used as an adjunctive or supplemental therapy in a number of conditions, including BMS. Aim: To assess the efficacy of oil pulling therapy using sesame oil on xerostomia and stomatopyrosis in patients suffering from primary BMS. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study conducted at I.T.S. Dental College, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, between April 2016 to April 2017 and included a total of 25 patients. On the basis of the detailed case history and complete haemogram, patients clinically diagnosed with primary BMS were advised oil pulling therapy once daily for a period of three months and symptoms of xerostomia and stomatopyrosis were assessed at the end of every month using Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Paired t-test was applied. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. The software used for analysis was SPSS software version 16.0. Results: All patients showed a statistically significant improvement in symptoms of both xerostomia and stomatopyrosis at the end of three months when compared with the baseline values (p=<0.05). Conclusion: Oil pulling therapy using sesame oil is found to be a simple yet effective modality with no harmful side effects, which can be advised to patients of BMS.

Keywords

• adjunctive therapy
• dry mouth
• oral dysaesthesia
• oral psychosomatic disorders