Burning Mouth Syndrome: Patient Profiles, Clinical Symptoms, Affecting Associated Factors, and Treatment Responses

Introduction Burning mouth syndrome is a painful condition of the oral cavity with ambiguous pathogenesis and diagnosis. Neuron-specific enolase is increased in several conditions including peripheral neuropathy of diabetes, ophthalmopathies, spinal cord injuries and tumors. Evidence on association of burning mouth syndrome and neuron-specific enolase is limited. Aim This study aims to evaluate neuron-specific enolase levels in primary and secondary burning mouth syndrome patients and compare the levels of neuron-specific enolase with associated conditions in secondary burning mouth syndrome. Methods One hundred and twenty-eight patients of more than 18 years of age with no gender predilection and having clinical symptoms of burning mouth syndrome and 135 healthy subjects were included. All the patients fulfilled Scala’s criteria for the diagnosis of burning mouth syndrome, including “primary” (idiopathic) and “secondary” (resulting from identified precipitating factors) burning mouth syndrome patients. Blood samples were obtained from burning mouth syndrome patients. Serum neuron-specific enolase was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To compare means and standard deviations, among primary and secondary burning mouth syndrome, data was analysed with analysis of variance and multiple comparisons test. Results The mean age of the study participants for burning mouth syndrome and healthy subjects was 53.30 and 51.6 years, respectively. Amongst the secondary burning mouth syndrome group, 32 (25%) of the patients had menopause, 15 (11.7%) had diabetes, eight (6.2%) of the patients had nutritional deficiency, seven (5.4%) had combined diabetes, menopause, and depression, six (4.6%) had combined diabetes and depression, four (3.1%) were diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome. A minor percentage of 2.3% (three) had gastroesophageal reflux disease, while the remaining three (2.3%) patients in the secondary burning mouth syndrome group were on anti-depressants. There was a statistically significant increase in the levels of neuron-specific enolase in primary burning mouth syndrome as compared to the secondary burning mouth syndrome and healthy groups. Among the subgroups of secondary burning mouth syndrome, diabetic individuals showed a significant increase in neuron-specific enolase level when compared with other conditions in the secondary burning mouth syndrome patients. Discussion and conclusion: The raised serum neuron-specific enolase levels in patients suffering from primary burning mouth syndrome highlight a possible neuropathic mechanism. It was also increased in the sub-group of secondary burning mouth syndrome patients having diabetes. Although it cannot be ascertained whether the deranged values in the diabetic group were due to burning mouth syndrome or due to diabetes, the raised quantity of neuron-specific enolase in the primary burning mouth syndrome group is a reliable diagnostic indicator. Future studies on the assessment of neuron-specific enolase levels as a diagnostic tool for onset and management of primary and secondary burning mouth syndrome are recommended.

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Support Group as a Management Modality for Burning Mouth Syndrome: A Randomized Prospective Study

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11167207 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (16) ◽

pp. 7207

Author(s):

Talia Becker ◽

Yafit Hamzani ◽

Gavriel Chaushu ◽

Shlomit Perry ◽

Bahaa Haj Yahya

Keyword(s):

Support Group ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Medical Center ◽

Life Quality ◽

Burning Mouth Syndrome ◽

Rank Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Before And After ◽

Burning Mouth ◽

Group Sessions

We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a support group in the management of burning mouth syndrome (BMS). The cohort included 22 adult patients with BMS who attended the oral and maxillofacial department of a tertiary medical center in 2014–2019 and agreed to participate in the study. Eleven patients were assigned to a support group and took part in 90 min sessions held once weekly for 4 weeks (a total of 4 sessions), and the remainder continued their previous individual BMS management routine (control group). All patients completed a life-quality questionnaire before and 3 months after the group sessions. Scores for each group were compared between the two time points with a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. There was a significant decrease in scores for malaise (p = 0.041), total pain (p = 0.046), and difficulty enjoying food (p = 0.026) before and after the group sessions in the study group. No significant changes were found in the control group in any of the parameters examined. A group support can alleviate pain and other clinical symptoms of BMS. Further longer-term prospective studies are needed to corroborate our findings.

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Burning mouth syndrome and associated factors: A case–control retrospective study

Medicina Clínica (English Edition) ◽

10.1016/j.medcle.2017.02.012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 148 (4) ◽

pp. 153-157

Author(s):

Eduardo Chimenos-Küstner ◽

Fiorella de Luca-Monasterios ◽

Mayra Schemel-Suárez ◽

María E. Rodríguez de Rivera-Campillo ◽

Alejandro M. Pérez-Pérez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Retrospective Study ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Case Control ◽

Burning Mouth Syndrome ◽

Burning Mouth

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Burning mouth syndrome: Patient management

Australian Dental Journal ◽

10.1111/j.1834-7819.1996.tb06019.x ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 41 (6) ◽

pp. 363-366 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Neil W. Savage

Keyword(s):

Patient Management ◽

Burning Mouth Syndrome ◽

Syndrome Patient ◽

Burning Mouth

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Personality Traits in Burning Mouth Syndrome Patients With and Without a History of Depression

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.659245 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Trang Thi Huyen Tu ◽

Motoko Watanabe ◽

Takayuki Suga ◽

Chaoli Hong ◽

Chihiro Takao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Burning Mouth Syndrome ◽

Mcgill Pain Questionnaire ◽

Psychiatric History ◽

History Of ◽

Personality Facets ◽

Burning Mouth ◽

Pain Symptoms ◽

Depression History ◽

History Of Depression

Objectives: So far, the strong link between neuroticism, chronic pain, and depression has been well-documented in literatures. Some suggested that they might share etiological factors, thus resulting in overlapping constructs. However, such effect has never been tested in burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients, a complex phenomenon influenced by both neuropathic and psychopathological factors. We aim to clarify how personality affects individual's pain and pain-related experiences.Methods: Two hundred forty-eight patients with BMS provided demographic information and psychiatric history; completed Ten-Item Personality Inventory, a Visual Analog Scale of pain, and McGill Pain Questionnaire; and provided adequate parameters of depressive state, catastrophizing thinking, and central sensitization.Results: BMS patients with depression history suffered more severe clinical symptoms and scored higher in neuroticism and less in openness and extraversion than did those without psychiatric diagnoses. After age, sex, and duration of pain were controlled, neuroticism in BMS patients with depression correlates with affective dimension of pain. Instead, if psychiatric history is absent, neuroticism correlates with sensory dimension and pain intensity. In both groups, higher neuroticism, unlike other personality facets, contributed to a more severe clinical condition.Conclusion: Of the five traits, neuroticism appears to be the most crucial dimension associated with the pain symptoms and patient's conditions. This study implies that management of pain must extend beyond solely providing pain-relieving medication and must require a holistic and multidisciplinary approach.

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Oral health‐related quality of life and associated factors in patients with burning mouth syndrome

Journal of Oral Rehabilitation ◽

10.1111/joor.13110 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jee‐Hye Choi ◽

Moon‐Jong Kim ◽

Hong‐Seop Kho

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Oral Health ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Burning Mouth Syndrome ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

Burning Mouth

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Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) – clinical symptoms

ORL ro ◽

10.26416/orl.51.2.2021.5437 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 34-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elena Claudia Coculescu ◽

Bogdan-Ioan Coculescu

Keyword(s):

Medical Practice ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Burning Mouth Syndrome ◽

Dental Disease ◽

Know How ◽

Secondary Form ◽

Burning Mouth ◽

Attending Physician

The scientific news and the importance for medical practice of approaching this oro-dental disease is supported not only by the patient’s persistent long-term suffering, but also by the concern to know how to identify the possible etiopathogenesis, especially in the secondary form, which once identified and sanctioned therapeutically is successful for both the attending physician and the patient.

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