Most clinicians dread seeing the patient presenting with a primary complaint of a burning pain on one or more oral mucosal surfaces. Unlike most other clinical conditions presenting in a dental office, burning mouth syndrome is recently, advances have been made towards clarifying the possible etiology of the disorder and testing the possible therapeutic modalities available. This article attempts to summarize the "state of the art" today.
Burning Mouth Syndrome ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Candidiasis, Oral ; diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Glossalgia ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Paresthesia ; diagnosis ; Xerostomia ; diagnosis

A 58-year old male patient, with a history of gastrectomy, came to our department for recently aggravated glossodynia. A delicate physical examination revealed gait ataxia and a positive Rhomberg test. He was diagnosed as having vitamin B12 deficiency using a combination of the laboratory results, such as macrocytic anemia. It was thought that the tongue pain might have been a main clinical manifestation of vitamin B12 deficiency.
Anemia, Macrocytic ; Gait Ataxia ; Gastrectomy ; Glossalgia* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Physical Examination ; Tongue ; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency* ; Vitamin B 12* ; Vitamins*