Background: In order to turn out oral mucosal change in relation to inducing factors of burning mouth syndrome, the difference in pain perception scale and keratinization rate between burning mouth syndrome patients and normal subjects were investigated.
Method: The twenty patients (13 female, 7 male, mean age: 59 years) with burning mouth syndrome, presenting in department of Oral Medicine, Chonnam University Hospital were participated in this study. All subjects have been complaining of constant oral burning pain more than a year, never took any strong analgesics, and never had oral mucosal lesions. The twenty volunteers (11 females, 9 males, mean age: 25 years) were also participated in this study as control group. The control subjects have had no symptoms of oral burning pain.
The thermal stimulation by using Nd-YAG laser and cytological smear were done to anterodorsal part of tongue, tip of tongue, left buccal mucosa, lower lip mucosa and chief complaint site. We selected the dorsum of lei, hand for contrasting skin area with mucosal area of burning mouth syndrome subjects and control subjects, The laser output power could be adjusted from 0.75W to 4W.
Results: The pain perception scale 6,E burning mouth syndrome subjects showed lower than that of normal subjects and those sites were chief complaint area, anterodorsal part of tongue and buccal mucosa(p<0.01).
The greatest difference of pain perception scale between burning mouth syndrome patients and control subjects in laser thermal stimulation were found on anterodorsal part of tongue.
The keratinization rate of burning mouth syndrome subjects showed higher keratinization rate than that of normal subjects and those sites were chief complaint area, anterodorsal part of tongue, tip of tongue, buccal mucosa and lower lip mucosa(p<0.001).
Conclusions: Anterodorsal part of tongue was the most appropriate site for the diagnostic laser stimulation. The higher level of keratinization rate and lower level of thermal pain perception scale on oral mucosa of burning >rrouth syndrome subjects will be explained as the one of protective mechanism against xerostomia and burning sensation. Thus, the application of Nd-YAG laser stimuli and cytological smear to oral mucosal-surface could be used usefully as a appropriate and standardized diagnostic tools for chronic orofacial pain subjects.
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