A review of animal models for burning mouth syndrome: Mechanistic insights and knowledge gaps

Objectives: The underlying mechanisms of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) remain unclear leading to challenges and unsatisfactory management. Current treatments focus primarily on symptom relief, with few consistently achieving a 50% reduction in pain. This review aims to explore animal models of BMS to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and to discuss potential and existing knowledge gaps. Methods: A comprehensive review of PubMed^®, Google Scholar, and Scopus was performed to assess advances and significant gaps of existing rodent models that mimic BMS-related symptoms. Results: Rodent models of BMS involve reproduction of dry-tongue, chorda tympani transection, or overexpression of artemin protein. Existing preclinical models tend to highlight one specific etiopathogenesis and often overlook sex- and hormone-specific factors. Conclusion: Combining aspects from various BMS models could prove beneficial in developing comprehensive experimental designs and outcomes encompassing the multifaceted nature of BMS.