Overview
Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is when your tongue, roof of your mouth or lips feel like they’re burning. It can also occur anywhere else in your mouth or throat. BMS can happen fast, and you might not know why. It might feel like something really hot (like coffee) burned your tongue. The medical term for burning mouth syndrome is “glossodynia” (pronounced “glaa-sow-DI-nee-uh”).
If you have BMS, the burning feeling might get worse as the day goes on. Your mouth might feel fine when you first wake up, but then start to burn later. When you go to sleep, the pain might fade. But then, when you wake up, it starts all over again.
Along with the burning feeling, your mouth might taste bitter or metallic. Some people have the sensation of dry mouth even though they have enough saliva. The burning can get so bad that it causes people to feel depressed or anxious.
It’s frustrating to have pain and not know why. Treatment can’t cure burning mouth syndrome, but it can help manage your symptoms. And learning more about possible triggers can help reduce the frequency of flare-ups.
Types of burning mouth syndrome
There are two types of burning mouth syndrome:
- Primary BMS is when your mouth feels like it’s burning, but there’s no clear reason why.
- Secondary BMS is when your mouth burns because of another condition. If you fix that condition, the burning mouth sensation usually goes away, too.
Who is most at risk for burning mouth syndrome?
Burning mouth is most common in postmenopausal people over 60. That’s because lower estrogen levels cause decreased taste bud sensitivity.
Your genetic ability to taste also plays a role. You might be a:
- Nontaster who doesn’t taste things very strongly
- Medium taster who tastes things the way most other people do
- Supertaster, who tastes things really strongly
A lot of people with burning mouth syndrome are supertasters who don’t taste things as strongly as they used to. Research shows that many people with BMS also grind their teeth. This can make the burning feeling worse.
Symptoms
When to see a doctor
Complications
- High blood pressure.
- Diabetes.
- Heart failure.
- Some types of heart valve disease.
Prevention
- Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
- Don't smoke or use tobacco.
- Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
- Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Reduce and manage stress.
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