Burning Mouth Syndrome

We have 3 grown up children and 5 grandchildren ranging from 5-16 years.2 from our eldest son and 3 from our daughter and we have just found out that our youngest son is going to be a daddy in March! We are so excited to be adding another little one to our gorgeous brood! X

Hi, sorry l'm late to this thread but hopefully my post will bump this up to the top for anyone suffering from this debilitating condition known as BMS. Please see Sheena's post and link to the Facebook Support group of which I am an administrator.
You will need to answer a few questions and agree to the group rules to be accepted.
We the sufferers are the only ones who understand.

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Just as the name suggests, when you have this condition, a burning sensation affects all or parts of your mouth, including your tongue, gums, the inside of your cheeks, the roof of your mouth and even the back of your throat. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, symptoms include a tingling or numbness on the tip of your tongue, a dry and sore mouth and a bitter or metallic taste in your mouth.

For me, the burning was mostly on my tongue, but it also traveled around different areas of my mouth. Carbonated sodas made my tongue feel prickly, and spicy foods sent me through the roof — especially the chili that I ordered in Santa Fe. What was I thinking? Even toothpaste and mouthwash irritated my mouth.

What Are the Causes?

There is no simple answer. There are numerous possible causes, according to the American Dental Association. Both men and women are affected, but the syndrome is more common in women during or after menopause. Other conditions associated with burning mouth syndrome are diabetes, nutritional deficiencies, oral fungal infections, tongue thrusting, cancer treatment and acid reflux. Damage to the nerves that serve the tongue and mouth, ill-fitting dentures, allergies to denture materials and an abnormal thyroid condition are other possible causes.

I attributed my fiery mouth to menopause. After about a year, routine blood work showed that I had a thyroid deficiency. After I took thyroid medicine for a time, the burning disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived. My situation was probably due to the thyroid, but it also could have been caused by menopause.

What Is the Treatment?

The first step of treatment is to diagnose the cause of the symptoms. Start by consulting your dentist. He can determine whether your problem is oral, such as a fungal infection, irritation due to sharp or broken teeth or an improperly fitting denture or partial.

If your dentist cannot find any obvious reason for your symptoms, he may suggest that you try some simple steps to get relief. Changing to an alcohol-free mouthwash, such as Colgate Total* Mouthwash, or switching brands of toothpaste may help. You may also try eliminating gum, tobacco, soft drinks and coffee for 2 weeks. When you take medications, you should check the side effects in case any of them is known to cause a burning sensation in your mouth.

If nothing is helping your burning mouth syndrome, the next step is to visit your doctor. He may order blood tests to look for other disorders or nutritional deficiencies that could be the underlying cause.

Living every day feeling as though your mouth is on fire can cause anxiety. Some individuals become depressed. This is why I urge you not to wait to find answers or get relief. See your dentist or doctor right away.

Have this as I have rheumatoid arthritis. Immune condition. Possibly connected to all immune conditions. Needs to be checked out.

I also had this horrid sensation in my mouth but along with that my saliva tasted of salt..It was horrid...GP gave me a longer course of antibiotics than normal and it cleared up completely...He thought it was a sinus infection..

Make a GP appointment and find out what’s causing it is your best course of action.

Hello everyone I was just wondering if someone could help me. I have a nasty burning taste in my mouth that goes around my teeth. It burns the front of my tongue and the front of the roof of my mouth. When I eat or drink I am ok to I have finished the food it comes back worse I have had to composite fillings where my tongue and roof of mouth burn. I have little cuts in the inside of my lips. I also have green phlegm with blood in it. I am on medication for acid reflux. Can this be a reaction to either the fillings or acid medication.

I will also add that the oral Dr, did say it affects mostly women..Go figure right!

Welshgirlbestie
Don't it take you there, with so many of us suffering from this there has to be a solutions.. Hang in there you are not alone.

Hello MsChe, I have been suffering with bms since Aug. 2020 was to scared to see Dr, due to the whole epidemic issue. Its been very difficult to function with this crazy thing we have. did some research only to find out there really is no known cure, very depressing to say the least. I am a very active 64 year old women and this is really having a toll on me.. So finally did a phone Dr appointment and she immediately ordered me Amitriptyline 10 mg I took one that nigh and had complete relief the next couple days, and sent me to an oral DR. He checked my mouth and sent me for blood work to rule out and underlying issues , they all cam back good. He did tell me that there is no way to know how or why it started and that it could last weeks or years. (ugh) But he told me to crush an ativan in a tble spoon of water and swish for 2 mins. it helped some but not enough..I really don't want to have to rely on these types of meds but feel I will go insane if I don't do something..I also use xylitol tablets which really help while they are in your mouth for some relief .

I am new to BMS. I am 60 years old. I believe I got mine after 9 weeks of meds for oral thrush after a wisdom tooth extraction. Dentist is sending me to endodontist to see if I need a root canal on bottom back molar. Is it ok to have a root canal with BMS? I’m worried it may make it worse. Any advice welcome.

I suffer with this condition too , I have found a low dose of amytriptyline is giving me some relief . I believe mine was triggered by having a wisdom tooth removed 4 months ago . I'm really trying hard to accept this condition and learn to live with it , otherwise I'm going to slide in to depression . Sending lots of love to all sufferers of this.

MisChe, sorry, BMS not NMS, (typo!!) I have approved your application to join our group. Anyone is welcome, just answer a few basic questions and agree to the group rules. We are a very friendly group and although not medically trained, we speak from experience.
Please follow the link posted by Sheena, thank you

Hi everyone thank you for sharing this type of mouth condition it’s been really very helpful to me many thanks you’re all a wonderful font of knowledge and comfort. In another post while I was trying to get in touch with my dentist. I spoke about my gum implants perhaps being the root (forgive the pun)of causing my gums to ache at night and having a terrible bad breath and being unable to get dental advice through no one answering my phone calls or even returning my calls. I’m very pleased to say I’ve had much support from the local pharmacist. She’s advised I may not have an infection but perhaps swollen gums and said I can take ibuprofen in between paracetamols. This should help reduce any swelling. I’ve also bought corsydol toothpaste and mouthwash fingers crossed ? I’ll review all this after one week and see how it goes she said meanwhile by rinsing my mouth with salt water I’ve been doing good.Heres hoping we can all begin to feel less anxious in alleviating our own individual conditions during this horrible time.God bless you all much love and remember we’re not in this on our own

MsChe l have pm'd you re NMS Group x

Katyj
Thank you for your reply. I have tried other dry mouth relief solutions too. Glandosane spray which only helps for that moment. I am also going to try saliva stimulating tablets known as SST. Let's see how much that helps.
Weirdly today my nostrils have started to burn. It's awful.
I also refuse to go down the anti deppresant root. The last thing I need is to get hooked on those. Thanks Katy

Hi. Mine started with the Menopause around 50. I don’t have the dry mouth that you mention, but I think there is something you can buy to help with that.I was offered anti depressants and cbt neither of which I took up.

Thank you Sheena. Thank you very much. I actually did join. Waiting for my request to be accepted. Best wishes to you too.

Hi MsChe ... the facebook group is a private group therefore none of your friends will see what you post, only the members of the groups . As for age.. yes it seems that a big percentage are women of menopausal age, but that isn't always the case, there are several people who are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s with this condition ... and also some men. Just about anything can trigger it, including dental work... but yes, anxiety plays a big part in how bad it feels. I personally do not think that's the cause although some medics say it is... but it certainly exacerbates the burn. And it can affect all different parts of the mouth, mostly the tongue, but soft palate, gums, lips etc and also give tooth pain. There are lots of papers been written about this condition as it is by no means rare, and very little conclusion sadly. Antidepressants may help as although we may not be depressed, the condition in itself is depressing as no doubt you have found. Please do join us on f/b ... it does help enormously to be able to write freely and also glean advice and support. Best wishes MsChe

Flutterby1, gillybob, sunlover, and Sheena
Thank you all so much for your feedback and advice. Sheena, thank you for the Facebook recommendation. Is it private or will my friends see my posts etc?
I am really starting to think that maybe, just maybe this is being caused by vitamin B12 deficiency and anxiety/stress combined. The worry of this virus and the uncertainty of our future is not helping either. However, I have started meditating and at night listening to mindfulness videos on YouTube, this one in particular. youtu.be/UwRKEjQ4yuo
Really helps. I just put on my headphones and fall asleep like a baby.
As none of you have mentioned age I can't relate all the cases to menopause but I do believe we are all women judging by the cute usernames and probably one of the reasons women get it more, apart from hormonal factors, I think, and that's just my opinion, is that some women are natural worriers. I definitely am a terrible worrier.
I think the thing that bothers me the most with this ailment is the dryness of my mouth which nobody has mentioned. I actually can't talk without a bonbon or a lozenge in my mouth. That's the worst symptom.
Anyway, thank you all once again. My doctors appointment has been brought forward to tomorrow. I shall definitely report back here.
God bless!

Hello MsChe if you put Burning Mouth Syndrome into the search bar you will find there have been quite a few posts re this awful problem. Some of them started by me. I have had this BMS now for a very long time and for me, now, it's a question of living with it. For me, there is no relief. But it does seem to ease down in waves...then back again etc. If you are on facebook then please do come and join our wonderful support group ... as you will see from here and in the group there are many of us sufferers and can give such help and support and friendship, every single day... you are never alone. Please do pm me if you wish . Here's the link for the f/b page ... please do join www.facebook.com/groups/221410511717076/ . The group is called Burning Mouth Syndrome UK

I am also suffering with mouth pain. I was in the middle of root canal/ crown work when we went into lockdown. Over last couple of weeks gums, pallet and roof of mouth very sore. Managed to speak to my dentist and picked up two different antibiotics. Hope these will sort the problem. I did suffer with this a couple of years ago and it disappeared when I started having B12 injections. As I’ve had to stop these at the moment I’m wondering if there’s any link.

I am suffering too l I think mine is a result of an infection in a failed root canal but not so sure . I’ve had several lots of antibiotics but none that make any difference ,

My teeth, gums, tongue, the insides of my cheeks and the roof and pallet of my mouth are permanently on fire . I have to let me tea cool before I can take a sip as the soft tissue is so red and inflamed .

Hi MsChe I have had this condition badly couple of years ago. All your symptoms ring a loud bell. I would like to add that ice lollies and ice cubes made in to tiny ice lollies helped.
It is a dreadful thing. Had many many tears with this so I sympathise. Mine lasted about 4/5months. I can sometimes get little twinges of it through stress.
Take care all

Katyj
This is exactly what I am afraid of. The results all coming back as normal. It's a nightmare just knowing that there is no cure. I will definitely keep everyone posted after my visit. Stay safe and thanks for sharing.