Type 3 burning mouth syndrome: psychological and allergic aspects

A subgroup of patients with burning mouth syndrome was investigated. The clinical history of these patients differed from the norm in that symptoms were intermittent and affected unusual sites. In addition, routine investigations were supplemented with a more detailed psychological evaluation than reported previously and also a possible allergic component was studied by patch testing. The study has shown that this subgroup differs from burning mouth syndrome patients overall in that emotional instability and allergic reactions, particularly to food additives, are of etiological significance and require to be taken into consideration in terms of patient management.