Burning mouth syndrome is a complicated, poorly understood, predominantly oral 
condition that affects more than 1 million people in the United States. Women 
are particularly affected by the condition; they are diagnosed with symptoms 
seven times more frequently than males. Burning mouth syndrome is characterized 
by a burning, painful sensation of the oral mucosa that most commonly involves 
the anterior tongue. Many precipitating factors to burning mouth syndrome have 
been proposed, and treatment addressing these factors has had limited success. 
Patients with burning mouth syndrome are more likely to be evaluated by 
physicians, and therefore it is advantageous for the physician to be familiar 
with this oral condition. This paper reviews burning mouth syndrome, associated 
causative factors, and treatment strategies for the physician.