Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Apr;30(3):1543-1554.
doi: 10.1111/odi.14553. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

Burning mouth syndrome: Analysis of diagnostic delay in 500 patients

Daniela Adamo  1 , Elena Calabria  2 , Federica Canfora  1 , Noemi Coppola  1 , Giuseppe Pecoraro  1 , Luca D'Aniello  3 , Massimo Aria  4 , Michele Davide Mignogna  1 , Stefania Leuci  1
Affiliations

Burning mouth syndrome: Analysis of diagnostic delay in 500 patients

Daniela Adamo et al. Oral Dis. 2024 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the diagnostic delay, the number and type of referrals and the clinical and psychological profile in a wide sample of patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS).

Materials and methods: Data on the disease onset, oral symptoms, type and number of practitioners consulted, misdiagnoses, and the presence of medically unexplained extraoral physical symptoms were recorded in 500 BMS patients. Potential predictors of diagnostic delay were also evaluated.

Results: The mean diagnostic delay was 29.71 ± 47.19 months. An average of 2.61 ± 1.65 practitioners were consulted by each patient, the most frequent being the general physicians (287; 57.4%), maxillofacial surgeons (111; 22.2%), and otolaryngologists (104; 20.8%). The mean number of misdiagnoses was 3.54 ± 1.85. Nonspecific stomatitis, candidiasis, and gastroesophageal reflux were the most common misdiagnoses. Higher age, low education, the presence of dysgeusia, and a previous history of psychiatric illness were predictors of a longer diagnostic delay (p-value: 0.028, 0.050, 0.007, 0.034, respectively).

Conclusions: The lack of knowledge among specialists, the high rate of misdiagnosis, and the diagnostic delay of BMS highlight the need to introduce educational interventions in all medical specialties in order to promote an early and appropriate diagnosis, thereby improving the prognosis and quality of life of the patients.

Keywords: burning mouth syndrome; diagnostic delay; medically unexplained physical symptoms; misdiagnosis; psychological profile.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Adamo, D., Pecoraro, G., Coppola, N., Calabria, E., Aria, M., & Mignogna, M. (2021). Vortioxetine versus other antidepressants in the treatment of burning mouth syndrome: An open‐label randomized trial. Oral Diseases, 27(4), 1022–1041. https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.13602
    1. Adamo, D., Pecoraro, G., Fortuna, G., Amato, M., Marenzi, G., Aria, M., & Mignogna, M. D. (2020). Assessment of oral health‐related quality of life, measured by OHIP‐14 and GOHAI, and psychological profiling in burning mouth syndrome: A case‐control clinical study. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 47(1), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.12864
    1. Alnafea, S., Fedele, S., Porter, S., & Ni Riordain, R. (2017). Online information on the treatment of burning mouth syndrome: Quality and readability. Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache, 31(2), 147–151. https://doi.org/10.11607/ofph.1717
    1. Beecroft, E. V., Durham, J., & Thomson, P. (2013). Retrospective examination of the healthcare ‘journey’ of chronic orofacial pain patients referred to oral and maxillofacial surgery. British Dental Journal, 214(5), E12. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2013.221
    1. Canfora, F., Calabria, E., Cuocolo, R., Ugga, L., Buono, G., Marenzi, G., Gasparro, R., Pecoraro, G., Aria, M., D'Aniello, L., Mignogna, M. D., & Adamo, D. (2021). Burning fog: Cognitive impairment in burning mouth syndrome. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 13, 727417. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.727417

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources