Journal
JOURNAL OF ACUPUNCTURE AND MERIDIAN STUDIES
Volume 7, Issue 2, Pages 65-70Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jams.2013.03.005
Keywords
acupuncture analgesia; alternative medicine; dentistry; toothache
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Acute dental pain is the main reason for seeking dental services to provide urgent dental care; there is consensus about the use of alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, to control dental pain in pre-dental care. This study aimed to evaluate the use of acupuncture in reducing the intensity of acute dental pain in pre-dental care in patients waiting for emergency dental care, and was conducted at the After-Hours Emergency Dental Clinic of Piracicaba Dental School, and at the Emergency Center Dental Specialties I in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The sample consisted of 120 patients. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to measure pain intensity. All patients underwent one session of acupuncture; the points LI4, ST44 and CV23 were selected and were used alone or in combinations. Reduction in pain was observed in 120 patients (mean initial VAS Z 6.558 +/- 1.886, p < 0; mean final VASZ0.962 +/- 2.163, p < 0.00001). The results of this study indicate that acupuncture analgesia could be a technical adjunct to pain control in patients with acute dental pain, contributing to the restoration of health with social benefit.
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