Vinciane Le Bris, Myriam Chastaing, Martine Schollhammer, Emilie Brenaut, Laurent Misery
DOI: 10.2340/00015555-3094

Primary burning mouth syndrome is a term used for chronic oral mucosal pain with no identifiable organic cause. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of a psychiatric intervention for treating burning mouth syndrome based on a joint consultation with a psychiatrist and a dermatologist. The study was proposed to all patients who visited this consultation group between 2001 and 2017 for the treatment of primary burning mouth syndrome. The patients answered a questionnaire that was administered via mail. Of the 57 patients diagnosed with primary burning mouth syndrome, 38 were included. Seven patients (18.4%) no longer had pain; 8 (21.1%) estimated that the pain had decreased by greater than 50%; 11 (28.9%) estimated the decrease at between 30 and 50%, and 12 (31.6%) estimated a less than 30% decrease. Only 14 patients (36.8%) remained under treatment with antidepressants, as compared to 63.2% before the psychiatric intervention. This psychiatric intervention could be considered a valuable tool in the global burning mouth syndrome treatment strategy.

Primary burning mouth syndrome is a term used for chronic oral mucosal pain with no identifiable organic cause. Burning mouth syndrome are frequently associated with psychiatric disorders. We conducted a monocentric study to evaluate the usefulness of a psychiatric intervention in a joint consultation with a psychiatrist and a dermatologist. Most of our patients demonstrated a significant decrease in pain and a small percentage of patients were completely symptom-free after such interventions. The psychiatric intervention seems to be a good and lasting therapeutic option, and should be integrated in the global strategy in burning mouth syndrome treatment.