Burning mouth syndrome: Present perspective

Introduction: Burning mouth syndrome is characterized by chronic oral pain or burning sensation affecting the oral mucosa in the absence of obvious visible mucosal lesions. Patient presenting with the burning mouth sensation or pain is frequently encountered in clinical practice which poses a challenge to the treating clinician. Its exact etiology remains unknown which probably has multifactorial origin. It often affects middle or old age women and it may be accompanied by xerostomia and altered taste. Objective: To review the current concepts regarding etiopathogenesis, diagnosis and management of this disorder. Methods and methodology: A literature review was conducted on PubMed/Medline and Google scholar about the burning mouth syndrome and the representative articles were selected and reviewed. Conclusion: There is no universal consensus regarding diagnosis, etiology and treatment of BMS. BMS is a diagnosis of exclusion which probably has multifactorial origin. Various pharmacological and non pharmacological treatments are available but it is difficult to achieve curative treatment so reassurance is of great importance while treating the patients. Combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, alpha lipoic acid and/or clonazepam has shown promising results.