INTRODUCTION: Burning mouth syndrome mainly affects women, particularly after 
the menopause, when its prevalence may be 18-33%.
METHODS AND OUTCOMES: We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the 
following clinical question: What are the effects of treatments for burning 
mouth syndrome? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other 
important databases up to February 2007 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated 
periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this 
review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products 
Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
RESULTS: We found 12 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met 
our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of 
evidence for interventions.
CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic review we present information relating to the 
effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: anaesthetics (local), 
antidepressants, benzodiazepines (topical clonazepam), benzydamine 
hydrochloride, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), dietary supplements, and 
hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women.