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Placebo effect in burning mouth syndrome: a systematic review |
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| Authors: | M Kuten‐Shorrer JM Kelley ST Sonis NS Treister |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Oral Medicine, Infection, and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, , Boston, MA, USA;2. Program in Placebo Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, , Boston, MA, USA;3. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, , Boston, MA, USA;4. Endicott College, , Beverly, MA, USA;5. Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, , Boston, MA, USA |
| Abstract: | Placebo controls play a critical role in the evaluation of any pharmacotherapy. This review surveys the placebo arm in 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating burning mouth syndrome (BMS) and documents a positive placebo response in 6 of them. On average, treatment with placebos produced a response that was 72% as large as the response to active drugs. The lack of homogeneity in the use of placebos adds to the difficulty in comparing results and aggregating data. Future RCTs investigating BMS would benefit from larger sample sizes, adequate follow‐up periods, and use of a standard placebo. |
| Keywords: | BMS burning mouth syndrome oral dysesthesia treatment placebo randomized control trials |