Burning Mouth Syndrome in Zahedan; the Southeast of Islamic Republic of Iran

Statement of Problem: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is characterized by a burning sensation in the tongue or other oral sites, usually in the absence of clinical and laboratory findings. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the main epidemiological and clinical features involved in burning mouth syndrome in Zahedan; southeast of Iran. Materials and Methods: In this case series study, 89 BMS patients were selected from those referred to the Department of the Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, and Khatam-ol-anbia, central hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, during 2002 to 2003. The study group consisted of 62 female (69.7%) and 27 male (30.3 %) patients, with a mean age of 60.9 years, ranging from 40 to 89 years. In all cases a study protocol, specially designed for this disease was completed, including general, medical and oral information and an intraoral examination. Comparative and descriptive statistical analysis was performed. The Chi-square test was considered significant at p< 0.05. Results: The 50-59 years age group showed the highest prevalence among the studied cases (24.3%). The tongue was the most frequent location of symptoms, affected in 86 patients (96.6%). In addition to the burning sensation, 25.8% and 48.3% of the patients complained of oral dryness and dysgusia, respectively. Type III BMS was the most common subtype (50.6%). In women, 90.3% were postmenopausal. Type II diabetes was observed in 36% of the patients and 37.1% suffered from respiratory disease, 23.6% from gastritis, 15.7% from liver diseases, 30.3% from renal disease, 40.4% from hypertension and 43.8% had sleep disorders. Also, 52.8% revealed seasonal allergy, 32.6% had temporomandibular joint disorders and 59.6% had poor oral hygiene. Conclusion: BMS is a complex and multifactorial disease process in which numerous possible etiologies must be eliminated before the proper treatment can be initiated.