DIAGNOSING A CASE OF ORAL BURNING

Burning symptoms in the oral cavity are caused by a range of systemic and local factors. Patients might mention it as a single complaint or sometimes as a secondary symptom in association with other factors, like with oral dryness, oral mucosal lesions or certain systemic conditions. There is a level of uncertainty in the presentation of our case as the patient presented with minimal oral lesion (to diagnose lichenplanus), dryness of mouth (xerostomia), sharp cusps of teeth (trauma to tongue and cheeks), poor oral hygiene (candidiasis), elevated glycaemic level (diabetes), chewing betel nut (deleterious habit), history of loss in business (anxiety) and missing teeth (ill-fitting dentures). So with an armamentarium of so many differential diagnosis we proceeded to diagnose the case.