Burning Mouth Syndrome, again
 

So, I've narrowed it down. After receiving a list of every prescription medication I had during 2007, and dental procedure during 2007, I have managed to link my case of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) not to my MS, but to dental work.

June 18, 2007 - Was fitted with mouth 'splints' for day and night wear. These covered the top row and bottom row of my teeth.

July 16, 2007 - I had my 1 month follow up with my dentist. He recorded at the time "She complained of numbness of the lips... and burning in the mouth

July 17, 2007 - I filled my first prescription of Nystatin (used for oral yeast infections).

Needless to say, the Nystatin did nothing. I've been swabbed like 5 times for yeast in the mouth. Never a positive.

Sometime between June 18 to July 16 of 2007, the 'appliances' the dentist crafted for me to wear day and night, caused things to go wrong in my mouth. Specifically my nerves.

Where do I go from here? I see a neurologist for my MS. I have a GP. I no longer go to that dentist. I've been in touch with an Osteopath that has a 'release' technique she used to treat 1 case of burning mouth, successfully, but she lives far away. I sent my chiropractor all the details the Osteopath sent to me. I'm taking all my medical and dental information with me on my next visit to my chiro.

If nerves were damaged in the mouth, is there a specific way for them to find out exactly what nerves are damaged? Is this treatable outside of surgery? I really don't want to face permanent damage. It's like the nerves are still working in the mouth, they're just 'misfiring' due to damage it feels like.

Hi dmplaura,

It sure does seem like the time line of your dentistry fits the situation you are experiencing. I have never heard of mouth splints causing burning mouth syndrome, but I suppose anything is possible. Could you be highly sensitive to the material that was used to fabricate the splints?

Nystatin is prescribed if there is "visual" signs of oral candida present during a clinical examination. Did your dentist prescribe this based only on your symptoms? Since you have come up negative for oral candida on 5 different occasions, then obviously the nystatin wouldn't be of benefit.

Has a dentist ruled out oral lichen planus? If not, that may be something to explore at this time.

It doesn't sound like you have permanent nerve damage. At least not from the mouth splints. It sounds to me like you may have an autoimmune condition going on in your mouth that was caused by ???. Perhaps your neurologist can offer you more insight into what is going on. But I would also have a dentist perform a thorough oral exam to rule out oral lichen planus.

Sorry I cannot be of more help :-( Please keep us informed on how you're doing!

Bryanna

I had thought about OLP... I haven't worn those mouth splints since last year by the way.

I've had 2 dentists, doctor and neuro all looking in the mouth... none suggested OLP.

I asked if I could be allergic to the splints. They were a hard plastic. They said no way, and I can't for the life of me remember what was used to craft them.

They felt like they were cutting into my gums for the month I wore them. Even after, they still continued to feel like this. I ultimately stopped wearing them.

It was a doctor at the clinic that prescribed nystatin to see if the burning would 'clear up'. He did a swab and said he'd call if yeast was found (he never called, I asked on a later visit, yeast was cleared).

It's just too coincidental that this resulted AFTER wearing those dumb splints. They covered my top and bottom row of teeth entirely, down to the gums. I wish I had never paid for them.

I am going to ask about OLP, but honestly.. I read about it, and from what I can tell reading, and having checked my own mouth regularly, I don't see any abnormalities. :cool:

dear one -
 

my mouth is burning /painfully numb?
I do know that it is perhaps my PD parkinsons disease,
yet I did have 2 teeth crowned after eating at a lovely mexican restaurant
I very much actually loved
but I had refried beans and truly bit down hard on a rock -pebble in the refried beans -they expect this to happen per so many customers -
and they paid for all the dental work so I had a great dentist...

:D trying to make this short:
so either its the dry mouth pill taking disease or the the dental procedure or both?
I chew gum all the time -I have to - this helps me very much
I chew Spry gum made with Xylitol -which I studied and it is not nutra sweet
and it helps a great deal... thought you may wish to try it?
just do not allow any dogs to get to the gum -it is deadly to dogs?
but not cats?
take care~

I chew Trident Splash (Vanilla Mint). It's the 1 thing, other than eating, that takes away the pain completely.

Well as we know, I can't be sitting there eating all day LOL!

Clonazepam definitely helps during the evening/night. But it makes you so drowsy, so it's only good at those times ;)

Edit: Just wanted to add, my Mom within the last week revealed to me that she has what she says "A touch of Lupus". Now I wonder if my neurologist (I called to let him know this information, as AI in the family is important in tracking my MS) is going to test for Lupus as well. Hrm.

Ok, now I'm confused.

Today, in daylight, I am able to see the faint characteristic lines in my mouth (bottom lip told the tale) of Oral Lichen Planus.

I had so much blood work done this past March, during my MS diagnosis, to rule out autoimmune stuff, vitamin deficiencies etc etc. So I know I'm in the clear as far as a connection there.

But, since I was a kid, I've had geographic tongue, fissured tongue, canker sores... is it any surprise since my mom's side has an autoimmune condition, and I'm diagnosed with MS... that OLP would be in the picture too?

Ugh, now how to confirm this (dentist obviously, unless my GP can biopsy the mouth). Seriously though.... :mad: I don't need any more mouffie problems!

Ok, I went to my dentist today (not the TMJ guy, but my regular dentist that does my cleanings etc).

He and his assistants all gathered around in awe. Apparently, they'd only seen something like this in textbooks.

So he brought in another dentist, who confirmed it is NOT Oral Lichen Planus (whew!) and what I have is some mucosal abnormality (something about pressing on the spots and the skin changing to the normal color when he did, etc). He has in fact seen and diagnosed OLP before. I don't have this. :)

Anyways, they are concerned about the burning mouth syndrome, and are referring me to a dental specialist who I will now see in February 09 (long waiting list hehe!).

They confirmed that the stuff I'm seeing in the mouth now, looks completely benign, but the specialist will likely take a biopsy.

hey buddy sorry its still bugging you, glad you dont have the other ones you mentioned, can i try to make you smile?

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...ar/tobasco.jpg

You didn't even need to try with that one Frank. I burst out laughing honestly HAHA!

Burning mouth syndrome & withdrawal from benzodiazipines
 

Hi, I also suffer from BMS and other areas that burn. I also wore many splints over the last 14 years and took clonazepam.

I understand that burning mouth syndrome (from my research) can be due to sensory nerve damage.

I have been on another forum where a man had this whilst on benzodiazepines. It was the actual daily withdrawal from the drug itself that caused the burning. It is not easy to stop taking this drug. But he managed to do it and years later he is getting better, even though he still gets it, its not as bad.

It is my educated guess that some nerve damage happened (in my case) during an infection (wisdom tooth) and its extraction. I was informed it was infected right up to nerve root...and was not given antibiotics. The pain worsened after the tooth was extracted and spread.

From there, my dentist just didn't know what to do and said it would take time..I took myself to oral dentist who started with the splint etc meds.

Now I have palatal pharyngeal and laryngeal myoclonus, I believe due to original injury PLUS effects of all the medications & withdrawal from them causing nerves to misfire during all these years.

Clonazepam affects cognitive function, memory etc.
I find certain foods can make it worse, like bananas. Keep away from coffee, sugar.

Hope this helps some.

Hi friend! Yeah, it's weird. I don't know... I think this condition can be caused by SO many things, thus... different drugs work in different ways for various people. My mother knows a lady in her 70's with burning mouth syndrome who finds tremendous relief with Amitriptyline. Amitriptyline did NOTHING for mine, and caused me terrible side effects.

Acidic foods are completely out for me. Bananas I find SOMETIMES bother me, other times not. It's strange. I don't care much for sugar, but coffee's my 1 vice. If I only stick to home made coffee, I find it's ok. I don't over do it, and it's lower in acid than buying one out, so it doesn't affect the mouth as much. :)

I take a VERY small amount of Clonazepam, and only began about 3 weeks ago. .25mg in the evening when the burning kicks in, then .25mg at bedtime. Some nights I only take the .25mg in the evening, and I'm good for bed. :)

Ok, here's a BIG follow up. Significant one actually.

I quit smoking September 30, 2008. Almost immediately the burning mouth began to settle down.

As of today, still not smoking (I quit cold turkey) and overall, the mouth is feeling WORLDS better.

So much makes sense now. I should have tried to quit smoking LONG ago, but I didn't in my wildest dreams imagine that smoking could, alone, cause burning like what I experienced.

It's entirely possible that I had some condition appear initially back in 2007.... and that smoking kept whatever it was 'there', until I quit. I'm crossing my fingers on this one, but I do in the end believe it was smoking.

Still going to follow through with the dental specialist. Now, I barely chew gum as much as before, I don't deal with the dry mouth like before (Amitriptyline was responsible for that one). Clonazepam I find does irritate my mouth, versus before when I was still smoking and it HELPED my mouth (wild huh?).

So now I'm down to .5mg of Clonazepam at nighttime, however I am going to slowly taper off it now I believe, OR reduce to .25mg at nighttime (it can help other MS type burning I experience).

My tongue looks better, and I think once I get past the nutty transformation my body's going through from quitting smoking, I'll be able to much better judge this mouth situation.

It makes SO much sense though now.. and I wonder how many others with burning mouth syndrome smoke, but never realize how much smoking CAN contribute to the condition? It makes perfect and logical sense... I'd wake up and the burning would not be present. As the day went on, it got worse. Well duh, I wasn't smoking in my sleep LOL! So naturally when I first woke up, the mouth was not irritated like it would become later on.

Honestly, I feel like a complete fool (the smoking thing) but I can tell you, going from 1-2 packs a day to cold turkey no smoking was never easier than this time once I made the mouth connection to smoking and the pain.