Burning Mouth Syndrome, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a non-inherited, non-infectious chronic medical disorder that is characterized by a burning intra-oral painful sensation.
The burning sensation can be serious, as though the patient has scalded the mouth.
Burning mouth syndrome can occur suddenly or develop slowly over time.
This burning sensation can involve the tongue, gums, lips and buccal mucosa either individually or collectively.
The tongue is the most often involved location.
BMS is also known as burning tongue syndrome, oral dysesthesia, glossodynia and glossopyrosis.
BMS is more frequent in women.
About one in three women have symptoms of BMS following the menopause.
Causes
Unfortunately, the cause often can not be found.
The cause of burning mouth syndrome can be categorized as either primary or secondary.
When no medical or laboratory abnormalities have been identified, the disorder is called primary or idiopathic burning mouth syndrome.
Primary burning mouth syndrome is believed to be linked to disorders with taste and sensory nerves of the peripheral or central nervous system.
Secondary burning mouth syndrome is produced by an underlying medical disorder.
Underlying disorders that may be linked to secondary burning mouth syndrome are:
1. Dry mouth (xerostomia)
2. Oral medical disorders, such as oral candida, oral lichen planus or geographic tongue
3. Nutritional deficiencies, such as inadequate iron, zinc, folate, thiamin, riboflavin,pyridoxine and cobalamin
4. Dentures, particularly if they do not fit well
5. Allergies to foods, food flavorings, other food additives, fragrances, dyes or dental-work substances
6. Reflux of stomach acid (GERD) entering the mouth from the stomach
7. Certain medicines, especially high blood pressure medicines
8. Oral habits, such as tongue thrusting, biting the tip of the tongue and teeth grinding
9. Endocrine disorders, such as diabetes or hypothyroidism
10. Excessive mouth irritation, resulting from over brushing the tongue
11. Psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression or stress
Diagnosis
There is no one test that can diagnose if the patient have burning mouth syndrome
Blood tests can check the full blood count, glucose level, thyroid and liver function, nutritional factors (, iron, folate, B12, zinc) and immune function, all of which may provide clues about the source of the mouth discomfort.
Oral cultures or biopsies
Allergy tests
Salivary measurements
Gastric reflux tests
The doctor may advise an MRI, CT scan or other imaging tests to check for other health disorders.
Temporarily stopping medicine to see if the discomfort goes away
Psychological questionnaires
Doctors believe that primary BMS is caused by damage to the nerves that control pain and taste
Treatment
Treatment may not be easy if there is no organic cause.
It is essential to treat any underlying disorders
Primary BMS treatment can be classified into lifestyle and drug treatments.
Patients with BMS normally benefit from reassurance and a combination of one or more of the treatments mentioned.
An essential part of BMS is to reassure the patient that they do not have cancer.
1. Cognitive behavioral therapy.
2. Benzydamine mouthwash.
3. Betnesol mouthwash
4. Antidepressants
5. Capsaicin
For secondary burning mouth syndrome, treatment is dependent on any underlying disorders that may be producing the mouth discomfort.
The replacement of poorly fitting dentures or taking supplements for a vitamin deficiency may alleviate the discomfort.
The doctor can prescribe medicine to help the patient treat mouth pain, dry mouth, or other symptoms.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Burning Mouth Syndrome
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Cha

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: May 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370855476

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972. Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009. Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993. Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 70. However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com This autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com. From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks. He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books. He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures. Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple. For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients. The later books go into more details of medical disorders. He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter. The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks. He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke. His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre. The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall. He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) starting with the Apple computer and going to PC. The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core. The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive. He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance. His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner. The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned. This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale. Dr Kee is the author of: "A Family Doctor's Tale" "Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine" "Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Burning Mouth

Syndrome,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2017 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Burning Mouth Syndrome, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Burning Mouth Syndrome)

This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 amazon kindle books and 200 into Smashwords.com eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring you the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Burning Mouth Syndrome

What is Burning Mouth Syndrome?

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a non-inherited, non-infectious chronic medical disorder that is characterized by a burning intra-oral painful sensation.

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a painful, complicated disorder often with a scalding feeling in the mouth that may happen every day for months or longer.

Dry mouth or an altered taste in the mouth may goes together with the pain.

Burning mouth syndrome is the medical condition where there is persistent (chronic) or recurrent burning sensation in the mouth without an obvious reason.

This disorder may involve the tongue, gums, lips, inside of the cheeks, roof of the mouth or widespread areas of the whole mouth.

The burning sensation can be serious, as