Effectiveness of Nonpharmacologic Treatments of Burning Mouth Syndrome: A Systematic Review
ReviewHumans
- Design
- Review
- Subjects
- 27 randomised controlled trials and 6 open clinical trials covering 14 non-pharmacological interventions
- Dose used in the study
- Alpha-lipoic acid 600 to 800 mg/day in 11 trials; palmitoylethanolamide dose not stated
- Duration
- Alpha-lipoic acid 30 to 120 days; capsaicin 7 to 30 days; PEA duration not stated
- What was measured
- Pain relief and other outcomes of non-pharmacological treatments for burning mouth syndrome, with risk of bias assessment.
What the authors reported
This review of burning mouth syndrome treatments found:
- Seven placebo-controlled alpha-lipoic acid trials showed significant pain relief.
- Two capsaicin trials and four of five acupuncture trials were favourable.
- Short-term pain relief was reported in trials the authors call anecdotal, which were placebo-controlled, of tocopherol, catuama, ultramicronised palmitoylethanolamide, group psychotherapy, cognitive therapy and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the prefrontal cortex.
- Most therapies were reported as safe.
Limits of this study
The authors rate the evidence as highly biased, short-term and heterogeneous. Ultramicronised palmitoylethanolamide appears only among the trials the authors call anecdotal, with no numbers given in the abstract. Funding and conflicts not stated in the abstract.
Source
PubMed 34609377 · doi:10.11607/ofph.2868
Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-10-19. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.