Glossodynia, burning mouth syndrome, and COVID-19

Am J Dent. 2022 Feb;35(1):9-11.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate whether the prevalence of glossodynia increased among patients affected by COVID-19 compared to other hospital populations.

Methods: The i2b2 patient registry platform at the University of Florida Health Center was used to generate a count of patients using the international classification of diseases (ICD)-10 diagnosis codes from October 2015 to June 2021. Logistic regression of the aggregates was used for analysis.

Results: Of the patients with both glossodynia and COVID-19, 60% were females, 32% were African American, 64% were white, and 100% were adults. There were 72% females, 19% African Americans, 72% whites, and 93% adults with glossodynia only. For COVID-19 patients, 57% were females, 23% were African American, 56% whites, and 90% were adults. The odds ratio (OR) for glossodynia in the COVID-19 patients was significant (OR = 2.9; 95% CI, 1.94-4.32; P < 0.0001).

Clinical significance: Glossodynia is significantly more common in COVID-19 patients and should be considered in the differential diagnoses among the oral complications of this infection.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Black or African American
  • Burning Mouth Syndrome* / diagnosis
  • Burning Mouth Syndrome* / epidemiology
  • Burning Mouth Syndrome* / etiology
  • COVID-19* / complications
  • Female
  • Glossalgia* / complications
  • Glossalgia* / diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Male
  • White People