The cause of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is unknown. Although no effective treatment has been established, BMS patients frequently chew gum to alleviate pain. To identify the cause and new treatments for BMS, this study investigated the psychophysical and pharmacological properties of gum chewing to better understand its pain-relieving effects. In this prospective, blinded study, plasma catecholamine and serotonin levels and Profile of Mood States (POMS) scores were assessed after gum chewing or simulated chewing in 40 women (20 BMS patients and 20 age-matched controls). Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for pain decreased significantly in BMS patients after gum chewing and simulated chewing. Moreover, resting VAS scores of BMS patients were significantly positively correlated with plasma adrenaline level. Furthermore, gum chewing was significantly correlated with lower plasma adrenaline level, VAS score, and tension-anxiety score. These results suggest that adrenaline is important in the pathogenesis of BMS pain and that the analgesic effect of gum chewing is induced through the potential effects of anxiety reduction, although this effect might not be specific to BMS. In addition, the analgesic effect of gum chewing was not induced solely by chewing motion.

灼口综合征 (BMS) 的原因尚不清楚。尽管尚未建立有效的治疗方法，但 BMS 患者经常咀嚼口香糖以减轻疼痛。为了确定 BMS 的原因和新的治疗方法，本研究调查了口香糖咀嚼的心理物理和药理学特性，以更好地了解其缓解疼痛的作用。在这项前瞻性、盲法研究中，对 40 名女性（20 名 BMS 患者和 20 名年龄匹配的对照组）咀嚼口香糖或模拟咀嚼后的血浆儿茶酚胺和血清素水平以及情绪状态 (POMS) 评分进行了评估。BMS患者在咀嚼口香糖和模拟咀嚼后疼痛的视觉模拟评分（VAS）评分显着降低。此外，BMS患者的静息VAS评分与血浆肾上腺素水平呈显着正相关。此外，咀嚼口香糖与较低的血浆肾上腺素水平、VAS 评分和紧张焦虑评分显着相关。这些结果表明，肾上腺素在 BMS 疼痛的发病机制中很重要，咀嚼口香糖的镇痛作用是通过减少焦虑的潜在作用引起的，尽管这种作用可能不是 BMS 特有的。此外，咀嚼口香糖的镇痛作用并非仅由咀嚼动作引起。