Acupuncture in the treatment of burning mouth syndrome

The burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic orofacial disease characterized by symptoms of burning or burning in the oral mucosa without being able to detect lesions or clinical change. Its etiology is multifactorial and affects mainly women in the postmenopausal periods. Treatment should be multi-disciplinary, but the complexity of the etiology knowledge hinders the establishment of the most appropriate treatment. Therefore, this study evaluated the use of acupuncture in the treatment of BMS. Through literature review, it can be noticed that the union of the concepts with the teachings of traditional Chinese medicine can provide a new perspective for the treatment of pain/oral burning as acupuncture treats the individual as a whole, in an attempt to restore the balance between the organs. Thus, various pharmacological effects can be achieved, such as analgesic, muscle relaxing, sedative, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, repair stimulating, and immunity promoter, which might have a great efficacy in the treatment of BMS.