Burning mouth syndrome – a burning enigma

Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) is a chronic pain condition characterized by an intraoral burning sensation and an absence of oral mucosal lesions and disturbances in laboratory findings. Burning symptoms usually affect the anterior two-thirds of the tongue, its lateral borders, hard palate and labial mucosa, but other oral cavity sites may also be affected. Taste alterations and a decrease in the salivary flow rate frequently accompany the burning symptoms. This condition mostly affects peri- and postmenopausal women. To date, the etiology of BMS remains unclear. This unknown etiology means that no appropriate treatment is currently available. A large number of the treatments and medications have been tried for BMS, but treatment management remains unsatisfactory in some patients. The purpose of this article is to present current knowledge on the treatment of BMS.