Clinical assessment and outcome in 70 patients with complaints of burning or sore mouth symptoms

Objective: To review a series of patients with a burning or sore mouth for elucidation of associated conditions and treatment outcome, Material and Methods: We retrospectively studied 70 consecutive patients wi th a burning or sore mouth who were encountered at a tertiary care center b etween 1979 and 1992, Clinical and laboratory findings were summarized, and follow-up data were analyzed. Results: The study cohort of 56 women and 14 men had a mean age of 59 gears . They had had a burning or sore mouth for a mean duration of 2.5 years. Mu ltiple etiologic factors for the burning or sore mouth were present in 37% of the study subjects. The most frequently associated conditions were psych iatric disease (30%), xerostomia (24%), geographic tongue (24%), nutritiona l deficiencies (21%), and allergic contact stomatitis (13%). With a treatme nt course tailored to the suspected causal factor, 72% of the patients who had follow-up reported improvement Conclusion: With a directed investigation, one or more causes could be iden tified in most patients who had a burning or sore mouth. Successful managem ent of these symptoms was possible in a majority of the patients.