Exploration of a pain assessment tool on burning mouth syndrome

Background: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic orofacial pain disorder. The etiology and pathophysiology of BMS remain unclear; multiple factors may interact in complex ways. There is a need for simpler and more cost-effective BMS evaluation criteria. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire version 2 (SF-MPQ-2) in patients with BMS and develop a subscale based on factor analysis of the results to classify patients per their symptoms. Methods: Several factors such as patient characteristics (age, sex, smoking habit, and medical history), the SF-MPQ-2 (original: eleven-point rating scale and modified: four-point rating scale), and the numerical rating scale (NRS) of BMS were examined and analyzed. Results: In total, 38 patients were enrolled. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.93 (0.88–0.96) and 0.83 (0.74–0.90) for the SF-MPQ-2 (original) and SF-MPQ-2 (Modified), respectively. Only the correlation between the NRS and the SF-MPQ-2 (Modified) reached statistical significance. These results showed that the SF-MPQ-2 (Modified) were more reliable than the SF-MPQ-2 (Original). Factor analysis led to classification into three new factors. Conclusions: SF-MPQ-2 was useful for BMS. In current clinical practice, the modified questionnaire may yield similar or better results, and a more precise treatment strategy can be pursued by classifying responses according to the proposed subscales and examining treatment effects.

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS); The short form of the McGill pain questionnaire version 2 (SF-MPQ-2); Oral dysesthesia; Research diagnostic criteria

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