Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome.

Area of Science:

• Oral Medicine
• Evidence-Based Dentistry
• Systematic Reviews

Background:

• Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is characterized by oral mucosal pain without a clear cause, affecting 0.1% to 3.9% of the general population.
• BMS is often associated with psychological distress, including anxiety and depression, significantly impairing patients' quality of life (QoL).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of various interventions compared to placebo for managing BMS symptoms.
• To assess the impact of treatments on QoL, taste perception, and oral dryness in BMS patients.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted, searching major databases up to December 2015.
• Included RCTs compared any treatment against placebo, focusing on symptom relief, QoL, taste, dryness, and adverse effects.

Main Results:

• The overall quality of evidence for all interventions was very low, with only one RCT at low risk of bias.
• Very low-quality evidence suggested potential short-term benefits for electromagnetic radiation, topical benzodiazepines, physical barriers, and anticonvulsants.
• Evidence for other interventions, including antidepressants and psychological therapies, was insufficient or contradictory, with poorly reported adverse events.

Conclusions:

• There is insufficient evidence to support or refute the use of any interventions for BMS due to a scarcity of high-quality RCTs.
• Further rigorous clinical trials with standardized outcomes are crucial to identify effective BMS treatments.
• Future research should explore treatments used for other neuropathic pain conditions and psychological therapies for BMS.