Effect of Oral Care Gel for Burning Mouth Syndrome in a Patient with Hepatitis C: A Case Report

Abstract

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a burning sensation in the mouth with no underlying dental or medical cause. To date, there is no satisfactory treatment for BMS. Herein, we present the case of a 42-year-old female presenting with hepatitis C virus infection along with BMS. Despite two interferon therapies and a sustained virologic response, the discomfort in her oral mucosa persisted. At the age of 51, the patient complained of burning sensation and tingling pain in the tongue; a thin layer of REFRECARE-H®, an oral care gel (therapeutic dentifrice), was applied on the oral membrane after each meal for 60 days. Application of REFRECARE-H® decreased the various symptoms including tingling pain, oral discomfort, breath odor, sleep disorder, depressive mood, and jitteriness. The improvement in quality of life continued for 30 days after application of the gel. These findings indicate that REFRECARE-H® may be effective in reducing the symptoms associated with BMS. Long-term follow-up studies with larger number of patients are required to elucidate the therapeutic effects of this gel.

Keywords: Burning mouth syndrome; Hepatitis C virus; Oral care gel.

Fig. 1.

Visual analog scale (VAS) of 8 items. A VAS is a horizontal line, 100 mm in length, anchored by word descriptors at each end.

Fig. 2.

The distributions of visual analog scale score before, during, and after the application of REFRECARE-H®. All subjective symptoms decreased during and after the application.