Background: Glycaemic disorders and oral candidosis can be accompanied by burning mouth sensations. However, no clear relation between all three disorders is known.
Methods: Seventy-two native Upper-Austrians with burning mouth sensations were examined and smears for Candida estimation were taken from the spots where the sensations were felt. All patients with previously unknown diabetes mellitus (DM) were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Use of glucocorticoid-containing anti-asthmatic sprays and the body mass index (BMI) were determined.
Results: Of the examined non-inhalers of sprays, 52% had increased candidal density. A correlation between that increase and type 2 DM was found. The burning sensations in all patients with increased candidal density subsided completely after anti-mycotic therapy.
Conclusion: The perception of burning sensations was hypothesised to occur via stimulation of the capsaicin (vanilloid) receptor by Candida metabolites. The Candida-induced stomatopyrosis should be regarded as a single symptom indicating (predisposition to or established) type 2 DM in non-inhalers of the concerned population.