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Acupuncture and burning mouth syndrome: a pilot study
Andrea Sardella1, Giovanni Lodi, Marco Tarozzi
1Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Chirurgiche e Odontoiatriche Unità di Medicina Orale, Patologia Orale e Odontoiatria Geriatrica, Università di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Pain Practice : the Official Journal of World Institute of Pain
|January 23, 2013
Summary
Acupuncture provided a statistically significant, though slight, reduction in oral pain for patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS). This pilot study suggests potential benefits for managing BMS symptoms, but quality of life improvements were not significant.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pain Management
- Integrative Medicine
Background:
- Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic neuropathic pain condition affecting 0.5-5% of the population, predominantly middle-aged to elderly women.
- Current management strategies for BMS often yield unsatisfactory results, highlighting the need for alternative treatments.
- BMS is characterized by an intraoral burning sensation with no identifiable medical or dental cause.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of acupuncture as a potential treatment for burning mouth syndrome (BMS).
- To assess the impact of acupuncture on oral pain and health-related quality of life in BMS patients.
Main Methods:
- A pilot study involving 10 BMS patients (9 female, 1 male; mean age 65.2 years) with a mean BMS duration of 2.6 years.
- Acupuncture treatment administered over 8 weeks, comprising 20 sessions.
- Primary outcome measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for oral pain/burning; secondary outcome by the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) for quality of life.
Main Results:
- Patients reported a statistically significant mean reduction of 0.99 points on the VAS for oral pain (P < 0.009).
- The observed pain reduction was slight, with VAS scores decreasing from a maximum of 2.1 to a minimum of 0.1.
- No significant improvement was noted in the overall health-related quality of life scores.
Conclusions:
- Acupuncture demonstrated a statistically significant, albeit modest, effect in reducing oral pain associated with burning mouth syndrome.
- While not significantly improving overall quality of life, patients undergoing acupuncture appeared better able to cope with their oral symptoms.
- Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to confirm these findings and explore the full therapeutic potential of acupuncture for BMS.
