Glossodynia is often refractory to conventional medicine, and there is only limited evidence to guide clinicians in its management. Patients with refractory
glossodynia are often introduced to Japanese traditional herbal (
Kampo) medicine experts under such circumstances because
Kampo medicine has become known in Japan to be effective in treating a wide variety of symptoms refractory to conventional medicine. Herein, we report our single-institution 5-year experience treating patients with
Kampo medicine for primary
glossodynia that was refractory to conventional medicine. We found that 69.2% of patients reported a beneficial effect of
Kampo medicine on
glossodynia, and the average onset of improvement was 8.0 ± 7.7 weeks after starting
Kampo treatment. The top two frequently used
Kampo medicines for
glossodynia were seinetsuhokito and mibakuekkito among high responders who showed a decrease of severity by 50% or more. The top four most overlapped herbs among effective
Kampo medicines for
glossodynia were Glycyrrhiza Root, Ginseng Root, Hoelen, and Atractylodes (lancea) Rhizome, which compose an essential
Kampo prescription called shikunshito. Although more research is required to further clarify the effectiveness of
Kampo medicine, it has valid efficacy even in cases of
glossodynia that remain incurable by conventional treatments.