menopause and burning tongue and mouth
By Andrea Donsky | Fact Checked | Sources
You haven't eaten anything spicy. You haven't scalded yourself on a coffee. And yet your tongue feels burnt, and it has felt that way for weeks. Nobody can see anything wrong. Your dentist says your mouth looks fine. If that's you, you're not imagining it, and you're not the only woman your age dealing with it.
Can menopause cause a burning tongue and mouth?
It can show up around this stage of life, yes. The burning, scalded feeling with nothing visible to explain it is known as burning mouth syndrome, or BMS. One paper in the NIH's PubMed Central archive reports that about 18 to 33 percent of postmenopausal women have burning mouth syndrome.
What does burning mouth syndrome feel like?
Like a hot drink you never drank. The symptoms are usually described as pain, burning, tingling, hot, scalding, tender, or a numb sensation in the mouth. The front two thirds of the mouth and the tip of the tongue are the spots hit most often.
What sets BMS apart is what your dentist doesn't find. There are no visible mucosal lesions and nothing on lab work to point at. Alongside the pain, women often notice their sense of taste has shifted and their saliva feels different.
The timing has a pattern too. Symptoms can come on fast or creep up slowly, and the pain can be gradual or sudden. The burning is often at its worst by late evening, which can make falling asleep harder, even if you sleep reasonably well once you're off. If your nights are already broken, our piece on menopause and sleep problems is worth a read.
Why does a burning tongue happen in perimenopause?
Honestly, nobody has pinned the exact cause of burning mouth syndrome down yet. But when it starts around the time you're heading into menopause or you're already postmenopausal, changing hormones are believed to be behind it.
That doesn't mean hormones are the whole story. Plenty of other things can produce the same sensation, and more than one can be in play at once, which is why it's worth going through the list below rather than assuming it's just your age.
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What else can cause a burning tongue and mouth?
A number of risk factors and possible causes have been named. Have a look and see what rings true:
- Eating spicy foods
- Speaking excessively
- Chronic stress
- Nerve damage
- Consequences of a dental procedure
- Nutritional deficiency, including B vitamins, iron, and zinc
- Menopause or other hormonal changes
- Use of certain medications, such as some blood pressure medicines
- Extreme allergic reactions
- Thrush (oral yeast infection)
- Depression or anxiety
Chronic stress and anxiety sit on that list for a reason, and both tend to be busy in perimenopause. If that's ringing a bell, you might recognise yourself in what we've written about menopause and anxiety.
How do you calm a burning tongue and mouth?
There's no single fix, and what helps one woman does nothing for the next. Most of what's worth trying is about avoiding the things that make it worse and keeping your mouth comfortable in between. Here's where women usually start.
Cool the mouth down
A natural response to heat is to cool it. Sucking on ice chips, sipping cold water, or eating an ice pop is the simplest thing to reach for when the burning flares.
Back off the obvious irritants
Acidic foods are a common trigger, so go easy on lemons and other citrus, tomatoes, and pineapple, plus anything spicy. It's worth keeping a rough note of what you ate before a bad evening, because the pattern usually shows itself within a week or two.
Try a gentle rinse
Some women rinse with a mixture of 1 teaspoon baking soda in 4 ounces of warm water several times a day. Others swish a tablespoon of aloe vera juice around the mouth for about a minute, a few times a day, or use a small amount of milk of magnesia on a sore patch of tongue. Coconut oil is another one you'll see mentioned, usually as oil pulling: swish it around your mouth for about 15 minutes, spit it out, then rinse with warm water.
Check your nutrient status
Sometimes BMS or a sore tongue comes down to a vitamin deficiency, and the Mayo Clinic names zinc, iron, folate, and vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12. A multivitamin or mineral supplement may be worth discussing with your doctor, ideally after you know where you actually stand.
Rule out a dry mouth underneath it
Burning and dryness often travel together, and a mouth that isn't producing much saliva is a mouth that feels raw. If your tongue is dry as well as burning, start with menopause and dry mouth and tongue, and if your gums have started bleeding when you brush, that's covered in menopause and bleeding gums.
When should you see a doctor about a burning mouth?
If the burning is getting in the way of your quality of life, book an appointment. More than one thing can be driving BMS at the same time, so you and your doctor may want to look at allergies, food intolerances, and a few other possibilities together, and work through them one at a time.
Go sooner rather than later if you're also losing weight without trying, if you've got a visible sore or patch in your mouth that isn't clearing up, or if the pain started right after a new medication or a dental procedure.
Related perimenopause and menopause symptoms
- Menopause and dry mouth and tongue
- Menopause and bad breath
- Menopause and bleeding gums
- Menopause and anxiety
Frequently Asked Questions
Is burning mouth syndrome common in menopause?
It's more common than most women realise. One paper in the NIH's PubMed Central archive reports that about 18 to 33 percent of postmenopausal women have burning mouth syndrome.
Where in the mouth does the burning usually happen?
The front two thirds of the mouth and the tip of the tongue are affected most often, though the sensation can turn up in other areas too.
Why is my burning tongue worse at night?
The burning sensation is often at its most severe by late evening. That can make it harder to fall asleep, even though you may sleep well enough once you're actually out.
Can a vitamin deficiency cause a burning tongue?
It can be a factor. The Mayo Clinic lists zinc, iron, folate, and vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12 among the deficiencies associated with a burning mouth or sore tongue.
Is burning mouth syndrome something my dentist can see?
Usually not, and that's part of the definition. Burning mouth syndrome involves no visible mucosal lesions in the mouth and no findings on laboratory studies.
What else besides menopause causes burning mouth?
Named risk factors include spicy foods, speaking excessively, chronic stress, nerve damage, dental procedures, nutritional deficiency, certain medications such as some blood pressure medicines, extreme allergic reactions, thrush, and depression or anxiety.
