Burning mouth disorder (BMD) and taste: a hypothesis

Background: Burning mouth disorder (BMD) is a burning or stinging sensation affecting the oral mucosa, lips, and/ or tongue, in the absence of clinically visible mucosal lesions. There is a strong female predilection, with the age of onset being approximately 50 years. The causes of BMD are multifactorial and remain poorly understood. Often BMD patients report, in association, change in taste. In this regards, it is relevant that in central nervous system connections exist between taste and oral pain and that taste normally inhibits oral pain. Aim: The working hypothesis of this study considers a possible relationship between burning mouth disorders and alterations of taste. Several conditi…