Clinical presentation of burning mouth syndrome in patients with oral lichenoid disease

BACKGROUND: To analyze the presence of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) in a group of patients diagnosed with oral lichenoid disease (OLD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study of 217 patients diagnosed with OLD; 158 (72,8%) women and 59 (27,2%) men, with an average age upon diagnosis of 56,4 years (SD 11,88). We carried out a detailed and complete characterization of symptoms, with special emphasis on BMS diagnostic data specified by the International Headache Society. RESULTS: Four patients (1.8%) presented with long-term clinical symptoms of burning mouth, indicative of BMS and they fulfilled the IHS 2018 criteria, except for criterion D, i.e.“Oral mucosa is of normal appearance”. The observed lichenoid mucosal lesions were not considered to be able to account for the reported intraoral pain in any of our patients. Thus neither diagnosis was considered to be exclusive. CONCLUSIONS: Patients diagnosed with OLD, and who simultaneously present clinical characteristics of BMS should be studied in detail, in order to evaluate the possibility of both diagnoses concurring. Key words:Burning mouth syndrome, oral lichen planus, oral lesions, oral lichenoid disease, burning pain.