Burning mouth syndrome is a debilitating disorder involving oral pain that may 
have at least 4 underlying causes. Although several treatments have been 
proposed, none seems to be universally effective. We report the case of a 
67-year-old woman with unremitting oral burning that is increased with the 
application of anesthetic agents. Initial treatments with nortriptyline 
hydrochloride and sertraline hydrochloride were contraindicated because of 
adverse effects, but the administration of gabapentin significantly reduced oral 
burning. The present case illustrates the effectiveness of gabapentin as a 
treatment of burning mouth syndrome.