Placebo effect in burning mouth syndrome: a systematic review

Placebo controls play a critical role in the evaluation of any pharmacotherapy. This review surveys the placebo arm in 12 randomized controlled trials ( RCT s) investigating burning mouth syndrome ( BMS ) and documents a positive placebo response in 6 of them. On average, treatment with placebos produced a response that was 72% as large as the response to active drugs. The lack of homogeneity in the use of placebos adds to the difficulty in comparing results and aggregating data. Future RCT s investigating BMS would benefit from larger sample sizes, adequate follow‐up periods, and use of a standard placebo.