NCT05871580

Brief Summary

Introduction: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a pathology with a low prevalence, affecting between 0.1% and 3.7% of the general population, the ratio between women and men is between 3 and 7:1. It is clinically characterized by a burning pain sensation, recurrent daily for more than 2 hours a day, persistent for more than 3 months and in a way that increases throughout the day and decreases at night, without presenting clinically evident causal lesions on the surface of the oral mucosa, nor changes in clinical sensory tests. The description of the symptomatology varies according to the patient and may be related especially to psychogenic factors. Patients report dry mouth/xerostomia and taste alterations, such as metallic or bitter taste. The most frequent location is on the tongue (tip and lateral borders), but it can also include the anterior palate, gingiva and lips. Since the etiopathogenic factors that produce BMS are not clear, it is difficult to make advances in therapy. The available treatments aim to control the multiple factors related to BMS, thus reducing the symptoms described by patients. Among them, the literature describes low level laser photobiomodulation. The success of the use of low level lasers for treatments in oral medicine is due to their biomodulatory activity and their ability to penetrate tissues. The analgesic action of laser radiation is due to the inhibition of nociceptive mediators and the release by the Central Nervous System (CNS) of endogenous analgesic substances such as endorphins, which hinders the transmission of the painful stimulus. It has been verified that low power laser radiation therapy can be effective in reducing symptoms in patients with BMS. Importantly, low power laser therapy is non-invasive, well tolerated by patients. Objectives: To confirm the hypothesis that the application of low power laser in the areas of oral burning can improve the symptomatology of BMS. Material and methods: We propose a clinical study in 38 patients with idiopathic BMS, prospective, randomized, double-blind. The study universe will be constituted by patients attended at the Oral Medicine, Oral Surgery and Implantology Unit of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), quality of life (OHIP-14) and subjective sensation of dry mouth xerostomia inventory (XI) questionnaires will be applied to all the patients, and the amount of saliva will be quantitatively determined by means of the unstimulated global saliva test (TSG-I) using a millimetric absorbent paper strip, at the beginning, at the end of treatment and at the re-evaluation at two and six months.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
40

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started May 2023

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

May 12, 2023

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

May 12, 2023

Completed
11 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 23, 2023

Completed
5 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

October 30, 2023

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

January 15, 2024

Completed
Last Updated

April 18, 2024

Status Verified

April 1, 2024

Enrollment Period

6 months

First QC Date

May 12, 2023

Last Update Submit

April 17, 2024

Conditions

Keywords

Burning Mouth SyndromeOral ManifestationsQuality of LifeAnxiety DepressionHyposalivationXerostomia

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Pain reported

    To evaluate the effect of 808 nm diode laser radiation (infrared) applied intraorally on areas where patients report burning mouth. The degree of pain/burning reported by patients using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Scale from 0 to 10, where zero means no pain and ten means severe pain.

    6 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • Degree of anxiety of the patients

    6 months

  • Quality of life of the patients

    6 months

  • Subjective sensation of dry mouth

    6 months

  • Quantitative measurement of saliva

    6 months

Study Arms (2)

Laser Group (GL)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The patients will be submitted to eight sessions of low power laser. The radiation emission will be performed according to the protocol.

Radiation: Low frequency laser activated photobiomodulation

Control Group (CG)

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

In these patients the investigators will use the same protocol applied in the experimental group (time and application values) but the laser device will be turn off.

Other: Low frequency laser photobiomodulation inactive

Interventions

Infravermelho: analgesia, tissue biostimulation. The number of laser application points will be determined based on the areas referred by the patients. * apex tongue: 3 points * lateral edge of the tongue: 4 points * tongue dorsum: 10 points * jugal mucosa: 8 points * labial mucosa: 5 points * hard palate: 8 stitches * soft palate: 3 stitches * gingiva or alveolar mucosa: 3 stitches per sextant. Time of 30 seconds in each application point, with dosage: 3 J/point.

Laser Group (GL)

The same protocol as the activated group

Control Group (CG)

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Patients with a diagnosis of BMS and symptoms of at least 3 months duration;
  • Clinical examination confirms clinically normal mucosa;
  • Patients who are not undergoing treatment for BMS;
  • Patients who, after being informed about the objectives and procedures of the investigation, agree and sign the informed consent form.

You may not qualify if:

  • Patients with uncontrolled systemic diseases (ASA III, IV);
  • Patients who have received previous radio and/or chemotherapy of the head and neck;
  • Patients with secondary BMS, which is due to organic causes, such as biological factors, i.e. the presence of some bacteria or fungi, which have a direct irritant effect on the oral mucosa and are capable of triggering burning symptoms. Such conditions considered as differential diagnosis of primary BMS which are, oral candidiasis, erosive lichen planus, geographic tongue;
  • Patients presenting systemic factors such as Sjögren's syndrome, untreated diabetes, or if they use drugs that cause oral burning;
  • Patients presenting a VAS score below 3 out of 10.
  • Removal criteria:
  • Patients who for any reason fail to keep follow-up appointments.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Universidad de Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, 15785, Spain

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Burning Mouth SyndromeXerostomiaOral Manifestations

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mouth DiseasesStomatognathic DiseasesSalivary Gland DiseasesSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Masking Details
One group will be lasered off and the other group will be lasered on.
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

May 12, 2023

First Posted

May 23, 2023

Study Start

May 12, 2023

Primary Completion

October 30, 2023

Study Completion

January 15, 2024

Last Updated

April 18, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-04

Locations