Mouth Burning Sensation (Burning Mouth Syndrome)

How Chinese medicine differentiates burning mouth sensation — distinct from Tongue Pain, Bitter Taste in the Mouth and Xerostomia (Dry Mouth) already covered — the six patterns you'll actually meet in practice, and the points for each. Acupuncture only — no herbs.

This page is educational, for practitioners and students — it is not a diagnostic tool and does not replace a proper in-person assessment. Burning mouth sensation should first be checked by a dentist or doctor to rule out nutritional deficiencies, oral infection, or an allergic reaction before assuming a simple pattern.

General Acupuncture Points

Acupuncture points traditionally used for burning mouth sensation — 17 key points, used across the patterns below rather than tied to just one.

Point	Key action
HE-7	Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices. Nourishes Heart-Blood.
HE-8	Clears Heart-Fire, Heart Empty-Heat and Heart Phlegm-Fire. Calms the Mind.
ST-44	Clears Heat from the Stomach channel and eases pain.
L.I.-4	Expels Exterior Wind. Regulates Defensive Qi.
ST-36	Tonifies Qi and Blood. Tonifies the Stomach and Spleen.
LR-3	Subdues Liver-Yang. Clears Interior Wind.
LR-2	Clears Liver-Fire and subdues Liver-Yang. Clears Interior Wind.
G.B.-20	Subdues Liver-Yang. Expels Exterior or Interior Wind.
KI-3	Tonifies Kidney-Yin and Yang. Strengthens the Kidney's receiving of Lung-Qi.
SP-6	Tonifies the Spleen and Stomach. Resolves Dampness and benefits urination.
KI-6	Nourishes the Kidney-Yin and clears Empty-Heat. Benefits the throat.
REN-23	Benefits the tongue and voice. Descends Qi.
REN-12	Tonifies the Stomach and strengthens the Spleen. Regulates Qi and removes pain.
SP-9	Regulates the Spleen. Resolves Dampness.
ST-40	Resolves Dampness and Phlegm. Calms the Mind.
REN-4	Nourishes Blood and Yin. Strengthens the Kidneys and its receiving of Qi.
BL-23	Tonifies Kidney-Yang and nourishes Kidney-Yin.

The Six Patterns

↑ reinforcing ↓ reducing ⊥ even method.

1. Heart-Fire Blazing View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Burning at the tongue tip, red swollen taste buds, mouth ulcers with red edges, palpitations, mental restlessness, bitter taste (especially after poor sleep), thirst for cold drinks.

Tongue: Red body with distinctly redder tip, red prickles at the tip, yellow dry coating. Pulse: Rapid and forceful, overflowing at the left front position.

Treatment principle: Clear Heart-Fire and guide Heat downward.

HE-7 ↓ HE-8 ↓

Note: no moxa. Direct exact-name match with this site's own Heart-Fire-blazing slide.

2. Stomach Fire (Stomach Heat) View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Burning in the mouth and upper stomach, excessive hunger, bad breath, thirst for cold drinks.

Tongue: Red body with central prickles, thick dry yellow coating. Pulse: Rapid, slippery, forceful, especially strong at the right Guan position.

Treatment principle: Clear Stomach-Heat, cool the Blood, nourish Yin.

ST-44 ↓ L.I.-4 ↓ ST-36 ⊥

Note: no moxa. Direct match with this site's own Stomach-Heat slide, the same match used for Perioral Dermatitis in batch 41.

3. Liver-Fire Blazing View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Bitter taste in the mouth, irritability, short temper, throbbing temporal headaches, red painful eyes.

Tongue: Red body with redder sides, dry yellow coating, possible red prickles. Pulse: Wiry and rapid, forceful at the left Guan position.

Treatment principle: Calm the Liver, extinguish Wind, drain Fire.

LR-3 ↓ LR-2 ↓ G.B.-20 ↓

Note: no moxa. Direct exact-name match with this site's own Liver-Fire-blazing slide.

4. Empty-Heat Caused by Yin Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Dry, scalding sensation worsening at night/evening, night sweats, malar flush, five-palm heat (palms, soles, chest), thirst for small sips of water.

Tongue: Red, thin, dry with cracks, little or no coating. Pulse: Fine and rapid.

Treatment principle: Nourish Yin, clear deficiency Heat.

KI-3 ↑ SP-6 ↑ KI-6 ↑ REN-23 ⊥

Note: no moxa given the Yin deficiency. Matched to this site's own Kidney-Yin-deficiency-Empty-Heat-blazing slide via the night-sweats/five-center-heat/malar-flush symptom set, the same match used for Petechiae in batch 41.

5. Damp-Heat in Stomach and Spleen View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Sticky, burning sensation, bitter or sticky taste, thick yellow greasy tongue coating, bloating after eating, heavy limbs, foggy head.

Tongue: Red body, possibly swollen with teeth marks, thick yellow greasy coating especially at the center and root. Pulse: Soggy and rapid, often slippery.

Treatment principle: Clear Heat and drain Dampness, regulate Qi, harmonize the middle burner.

ST-36 ⊥ REN-12 ⊥ SP-9 ↓ ST-40 ↓

Note: no moxa. Linked to this site's Damp-Heat-invading-the-Spleen slide, the same naming-nuance flag used for Perioral Dermatitis and Myasthenia Gravis.

6. Kidney and Spleen Yang Deficiency With Empty Cold View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Mouth burning despite cold hands and feet, aversion to cold with warmth preference, loose stools or early-morning diarrhea, frequent clear copious urination, lower back and knee soreness/coldness, fatigue.

Tongue: Pale, swollen, tooth-marked with white slippery coating. Pulse: Deep, slow, weak, especially at the Chi positions.

Treatment principle: Warm the interior, dispel Cold, tonify Kidney-Yang.

REN-4 ↑ BL-23 ↑ ST-36 ↑

Note: moxa applicable throughout, especially on the lower abdomen. Matched to this site's own Kidney-and-Spleen-Yang-deficiency slide, the source's \"Empty Cold\" addition being descriptive elaboration rather than a separate pattern.

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