Thermal quantitative sensory testing in burning mouth syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: Subjects with burning mouth syndrome (BMS) have altered sensitivity and pain thresholds for thermal stimuli compared to a control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fourteen women and 6 men (average age = 62.60 years, median = 63.50) with BMS and a control group were tested using the method of thermal quantitative sensory testing (tQST) (tip, right, and left lateral border of the tongue, left thumb) to determine their heat/cold detection threshold (WDT/CDT) and heat/cold pain threshold (HPT/CPT). RESULTS: Only the CPT values at the tip and both lateral border of the tongue show a statistically significant difference: tip of the tongue: sick = 12.0 +/- 5.5 degrees C, median 14.2 degrees C; healthy = 4.5 +/- 2.9 degrees C; median = 6.4 degrees C; p = 0.000; right lateral border: sick = 8.55 +/- 3.34 degrees C; healthy = 4.46 +/- 1.90 degrees C; median 5.8 degrees C; p < 0.001; left lateral border: sick = 10.18 +/- 3.94 degrees C healthy = 4.15 +/- 2.18 degrees C; median = 6.0 degrees C; p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: BMS may be a combination of a dysfunction of free nociceptive nerve endings in the peripheral nervous system and impaired pain processing in the central nervous system. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This preliminary study provides hints to other causes of BMS. This offers the possibility of further therapeutic options.