We analyzed the thermal pain thresholds of the tongue and the hand in 50 burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients and in 20 healthy subjects with a thermal stimulator. In patients, thresholds in the tongue were lower than those in the hand. In addition, thresholds in the tongue of patients were lower than those of the healthy subjects. Thresholds in the painful area of the tongue were not statistically different from those in the pain-free area. The pain thresholds in the tongue of the patients who reported sensitization to hot beverages were not significantly different from those who did not. It is suggested that pain reaction to thermal stimuli in BMS patients was influenced by the sensitization of peripheral thermal receptors, central sensitization of pain pathways and psychological emotional factors.
展开▼
