Objective: To analyze the literature on the characteristics of burning mouth syndrome of etiology, epidemiology, classification, differential diagnosis and treatment.

Methodology: For the bibliographic review with electronic search by the PUBMED and Google Scholar search engine with the keywords “burning mouth syndrome, etiology, epidemiology, classification, differential diagnosis and treatment" with 2015-2020 dates.

Results: The etiology is classified as primary and secondary although it has multifactorial effects with local, systemic and psychological factors. The prevalence ranges from 0.7% to 5.1%, with a gender ratio of 7:1, with menopausal women having the greatest number of conditions. The classification is type I (35%), II (55%) and III (10%). The differential diagnosis is very extensive because of the confusion of symptoms, therefore a specific laboratory study is needed to rule out and obtain a single result. The treatment must be handled individually and include multidisciplinary approaches to achieve its long-term success.

Conclusion: Burning mouth syndrome is a relatively common chronic intraoral pain disorder that can last from weeks to months. The etiology is multifactorial with a multidisciplinary approach and it is important to include medical and psychosocial therapy to ensure better management in the relief of symptoms.