Burning tongue

[Guest guest]

As requested, here are the responses to burning tongue or Burning Mouth Syndrome

(BMS). I placed a dotted line between responses.

Jacqui

My question:

Good Morning!

Besides riboflavin deficiency, does anyone have any other suggestions for

what could cause a swollen, burning tongue?

------------------------------------------------ Thrush; oral lichen planus;

allergy; and here's an article that might be

helpful:

Public release date: 3-Sep-2003

Contact: Urbanczyk

_susanu@..._ (mailto:susanu@...)

Academy of General Dentistry

Burning mouth syndrome

Anxious? depressed? extinguish pain by analyzing overall health

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS), a painful disorder affecting mostly women,

is a constant and aggravating source of discomfort for more than 1

million adults.

Patients' experience a burning sensation in their mouth, palate, lips

and tongue, as well as partial or complete loss of taste, dry mouth and

thirst.

New findings explain how anxiety and depression may be a precursor that

triggers this difficult-to- triggers this difficult-to-<WBR>diagnose syndrome

that will be published in the September/October 2003 issue of General

Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) clinical,

peer-reviewed journal.

Oral habits of anxiety and depression may include repetitive tongue

thrusting and bruxism (teeth grinding) which can irritate the mouth and

lips and have been reported to cause BMS symptoms in up to 70 percent of

patients suffering from this chronic disorder.

" Pinpointing the pain source can be a trying task for patients and their

health care providers, " explains Andres Pinto, DMD, lead report author,

who states more females in their 20's and 30's are also experiencing

this syndrome, oftentimes due to stress.

Other overall health conditions linked to BMS include anemia,

gastroesophageal reflux disease, undiagnosed diabetes, nutritional

deficiencies, hormonal imbalance and a yeast or candida infection in the

mouth.

" If you have BMS, analyze your overall health and note any life-altering

events or stressors that occur, " encourages Lois Duerst, DDS, FAGD,

spokesperson for the AGD.

According to Dr. Pinto, some patients experience relief after stopping

their oral habits brought on by stress.

Do You Have BMS? Check For:

* Burning sensations in mouth area

* Dry mouth

* Altered taste perception

* Changes in eating habits

* Irritability

* Depression

* Changes in medications

Possible Treatments:

* Antifungal therapy

* Vitamin and mineral replacements

* Creams or lozenges containing capsaicin

* Hormonal replacement

* Antidepressants

* Mental health counseling

* Intraoral appliances

###

For news media only:

Editor's Note: A copy of the study, " Burning mouth syndrome: A field

guide for the general practitioner " , is available. Call or

email _susanu@..._ (mailto:susanu@...) . -

-------------------------------------------- Arrrgh - Thanks ne -

But, what a schizophrenic article - In one place they suggest nutritional

deficiencies and depression are related to BMS. . . Well, guess what?

Vitamin/mineral deficiencies may cause depression.

Then, later, when they list: " CHECK FOR, " malnourishment/ vitamin/mineral

deficiency isn't mentioned.

What about zinc that gets no mention here as well? Neither does iron. How

about magnesium and calcium deficiency - linked not only to bruxism, but ALSO

to

depression and irritability!

Now all these improperly nourished BMS patients will run out and ask for a

drug to " treat the symptom " rather than figuring out the " cause " of the

symptom.

Okay, enough mini-rant. . . I could go on and on!

Jan Patenaude ----------------------------------------- Hi Jacqui,

I know you're getting certified with LEAP as well, and that " burning tongue

syndrome " is NOT mentioned in any of the LEAP training materials.

But, that said, anecdotally, I've had at least 3 clients with burning

tongue/mouth that did great when they got off their MRT reactive foods or

chemicals.

Now, just off the top of my head, it seems I recall common

toothpaste/mouthwas h ingredients being triggers (mint, cinnamon, potassium

nitrate, etc) among

other things, as well.

So, short of doing LEAP/MRT - maybe avoiding all mouthwash and toothpaste

and using baking soda for a week and see if it helps. (Avoiding any commonly

used/eaten/chewed/sucked mints, gum, toothpaste, etc as well.)

Jan Patenaude --------------------------------------------- foods high in

acidic qualities? niacin flush with high dose? food allergies is what my heart

tells me, but who knows. am interested in other responses. You might want to

check if the patient is taking any herbal supplements. I'm not an expert in the

area, but have heard various physicians talk about strange symptoms associated

with megadoses of herbal cocktails. I'm going to assume food allergies have been

ruled out. Does the patient have reflux (Barrett's Esophagitis)?

-------------------------------------------------

candida? Thrush? That is very painful!

--------------------------------------------------

Everything gets exacerbated with stress - the body goes into an inflammatory

mode- and foods, environmental stressors/toxins may affect a person much more.

I'd also suggest fish oil at 2000mg and a good multi.

-----------------------------------------------

Jacquelyn A. Pressly, RD

The NON-DIET dietitian

Personal Nutrition Coaching and Designer Lifestyle Plans

Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania

Internet and telecounseling for distance clients

If " you are what you eat " then dietitians are the doctors of the future!

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