Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a complex disease of unknown cause. It is 
characterized by a burning sensation in the oral mucosa, notwithstanding its 
clinical normal aspect. BMS is particularly seen in postmenopausal women. The 
purpose of this study was to investigate this syndrome on a clinical basis and, 
in addition, to analyze its possible relation to the frequency of Candida 
species. Thirty-one patients (28 women and 3 men; 13 Caucasians and 18 
non-Caucasians; mean age = 61.3, range 30-85 years) were evaluated. Most 
patients (80.6%) were under long-term medication, antihypertensive, ansiolitic 
and antidepressant drugs being the most used. Burning mouth complaint was 
associated with other secondary oral complaints in 83.8% of the cases. Tongue 
was the most commonly affected site (70.9%), followed by the vermillion border 
of the lower lip (38.7%) and hard palate (32.2%). The association of the burning 
sensation with oral cancer (cancer phobia) was reported by 67.7% of the 
patients. Haematologic examination (hematocrit, haemoglobin and fasting blood 
glucose level) revealed 2 cases each of anemia and type 2 diabetes. Local 
factors, tooth extractions and dentures wearing, were associated with the onset 
of symptoms in 35.5% of the cases. Daily activities were changed as a 
consequence of BMS in 29% of the patients. Among the species of the genus 
Candida, C. albicans was the most frequent in BMS patients (9 - 29.03%) and 
controls (12 - 38.70%), followed respectively by C. parapsilosis (2 - 6.45% and 
0 - 0%); C. tropicalis (1 - 3.22% and 2 - 6.45%); C. krusei and C. kefyr (1 - 
3.22% and 0 - 0%). Therefore, such difference did not reach valuable results. In 
conclusion, these data were similar to those reported in other studies. The 
highlights of the present findings were the possible relation of BMS with 
chronic drug use, depression, menopause and cancer phobia. No association was 
found between BMS and the prevalence of Candida species.