Abstract
To carry out a review of previous study on glossodynia, all publications including conference proceedings and abstracts in the Japanese Journal of Psychosomatic Dentistry were searched (since 1986 up to 2006) to identify relevant literature.
Glossodynia is characterized by a spontaneous burning pain in the tongue or other oral sites, usually in the absence of clinical and laboratory findings. This condition is reported more often in women, especially 40-60 years-old. Typically, patients awaken without pain but note increasing symptoms through the day and into the evening. Patients report decreased pain with eating, and often complain oral disesthesia, dryness, and taste alternations and so on. There has been clear consensus on these clinical features among Japanese dentists. And various effective managements had been reported such as administration of antidepressants or benzodiazepines, in combination with brief psychotherapies.
Recent studies have pointed to dysfunction of several neurotransmitters and neural networks in the central nervous systems as a possible cause of glossodynia.
This review suggested the fact that grossodynia has been properly managed by specialists of Psychosomatic Dentistry in Japan.
