Burning mouth syndrome: is acupuncture a therapeutic possibility?

Abstract

is fairly common, which explains the increased attention that the condition has received in the recent literature. 3 The aetiology of BMS is poorly understood and considered multifactorial, being associated with various local, systemic, psychogenic and neurological causes. [4][5] Therapy is empiric and without evidence of effi cacy, leaving the condition with no recognised treatment. 6 The disorder, often of an unknown ethiopathogenesis, still presents substantial clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic problems. Due to the absence of a clear clinical objective assessment for this disorder and the lack of a defi nite understanding of its ethiopathogenesis, the clinical interpretation and treatment of BMS remains problematic. Among the possible risk factors of BMS are numerous physiopathological situations where the microcirculatory mechanisms are involved in pain generation. Recent research has revealed an alteration of the oral district microcirculation in patients with BMS.The vasomodulatory effect of acupuncture has been proven through elegant thermographic methods that show how acupuncture is able to operate a microcirculatory modifi cation. In addition, it INTRODUCTIONBurning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a painful syndrome whose frequency in the general population is quite signifi cant. According to recent studies, the syndrome affects 3.7% of the general population and is more common in women (5.5%) -particularly after menopause -than in men (1.6%). 1The disorder is characterised by a burning or itching sensation preferentially located at the tip and sides of the tongue, lips and anterior palate, in the absence of evidence of oral mucosal pathology, and sometimes associated with taste alterations and dry mouth. 2 The syndrome is more common in women than in men, with the peak prevalence corresponding to females in the fourth to sixth decades of life. Several studies indicate that BMS Background Burning mouth syndrome is a chronic pathology of unknown ethiopathogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether acupuncture can produce a reduction of the burning sensation by infl uencing the oral microcirculation. Methods Thirty patients (10 male and 20 female; mean age ± SD = 65.4 ± 2.17) and 30 healthy subjects (10 male and 20 female; mean age ± SD = 62.06 ± 6.72) were recruited for the study. The patients were treated with acupunctural techniques based on traditional Chinese medicine. Microcirculation was observed in vivo using videocapillaroscopy at three different times: t 0 ) in the absence of acupuncture; t 1 ) 1 minute after the insertion of the needles; and t 2 ) 5 minutes after the insertion of the needles and following their stimulation. Results The capillaroscopic observation revealed a signifi cant increase of the capillary tortuousness and density, a reduction of the arborescence and a reduction of burning sensation in such patients. Conclusion The study shows that acupuncture infl uences oral microcirculation, resulting in a signifi cant variation of the vascular pattern to which is associated a s...

Comparative study among three different phototherapy protocols to treat chemotherapy‐induced oral mucositis in hamsters

“…Oral Mucositis is very painful mucosal damage as a consequence of cancer therapies, including highdoses of CT. Severe OM can negatively influence the patient's prognosis and have important economic impact, resulting from costs associated with management of the symptoms [41][42][43]. Studies have indicated that LLLT and LED can effectively reduce the severity of OM [2,20,22,30,36,[44][45][46][47], and HPL has been associated with a greater analgesic effect [24].…”

Managing a patient with burning mouth syndrome

“…Two small pilot studies reported that acupuncture for 8 weeks improved pain slightly although did not significantly improve quality of life,41 but when carried out monthly for 6 months can lead to symptom reduction for up to 18 months following treatment 42. However, due to the small number of patients studied and lack of controlled data, no conclusion can be reached on its value in BMS.…”

Orofacial Pain

“…Lopez et al [80] explored use of CAM therapies in a sample of 82 patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome; of these, 40% included CAM in their treatment plans and 39% of these individuals perceived the CAM as effective in managing their pain. The literature supports the value of acupuncture for the management of idiopathic headaches [81], and has shown promise in the management of TMDs and Burning Mouth Syndrome [82][83][84].…”