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Diet
& Lifestyle Dentistry
Acupuncture - dentistry
There are not many published research papers of controlled studies on the analgesic effect of acupuncture in dentistry.
A literature search produced 74 papers published between 1966 and 1996,and 48 of them were assessed.
Of those 48, only 15 of the papers were considered to have been condutced in a manner which fulfilled predefined methodological criteria
(e.g having a control group, randomised selection of patients, sufficient number of patients, follow up data or conducted blind with researcher or practitioner and/or patients not knowing who were receiving proper treatment and who were receiving sham.
Of the 15 'approved ' papers, only one stuyd met with more than 85% of the criteria, five met with 70-84%, three met with 60-69% and the remaining six did not reach 60% of the criteria and were consequently considered to be insufficient to provide statistically reliable data.
However, 11 out of the 15 studies were in favour of acupuncture and showed acupuncture treatment to be more effective than placebo, 'sham' acupuncture, or showed that acupuncture treatment produced equivalent or better results than accepted conventional treatments. More interestingly, the higher the standard of the research paper, the more likely that it gave a positive result in favour of acupuncture - all those papers in the 'excellent' or 'good' categories gave a favourable result.
An analysis of the data revealed that acupuncture proved to be effective in 73% of the papers reviewed for the treatment of temperomandibular dysfunction or as an analgesic, and the report of the survey concluded that acupuncture should be considered as a reasonable alternative or supplement to current dental practices in these areas.
Palle Rosted. The Use of Acupuncture in Dentistry: a systematic review. Acupuncture in Medicine May 1998 Vol XVI No.1
p43
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Laser
acupuncture - dentistry
Acupuncture
has been used successfully for over 17 years as an alternative form of
analgesia in dentistry. Recently, one of the largest studies ever
undertaken demonstrated that laser acupuncture is without question an
effective analgesic in dentistry.
In the study, laser acupuncture -
involving a beam from a 2.8-6 mW helium-neon laser apparatus (Model CW-12,
Chengdu Thermometer Factory) being delivered and focused on a red spot on
the selected skin point of the patient - was used on 610 patients. 562 of
them had difficult exodontia and the remaining 48 involved various minor
operations in the oro-maxillofacial region. No other sedatives or
analgesics were administered before or during the operations which were
all completed satisfactorily with no side effects.
Zhou YC An advanced
clinical trial with laser acupuncture anesthesia for minor operations in
the oro-maxillofacial region. Lasers Surg Med (UNITED STATES) 1984, 4 (3)
p297-303
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Hypnotherapy
- dentistry
Over the
past decade hypnotherapy has been used in dental surgeries to assist in
pain control and the alleviation of anxiety and stress. Until recently
there was little by way of controlled research to support the use of
hypnotherapy in dentistry, however a recent study from Sweden(1) has
demonstrated that hypnotherapy is an effect relaxation and analgesic aid
for patients having to undergo dental treatment.
The study conducted at the eastman
Dental Centre, Stockholm, was set up to evaluate the effects of
preoperative hypnotic techniques used by patients having surgical removal
of their third mandibular molar tooth.
Sixty nine patients participated in
the study, 33 of whom were randomly assigned to receive hypnotherapy and
36 assigned to a control group. The week prior to the surgery, the
treatment group listened to an audiotape which contained an hypnotic
relaxation induction, followed by suggestions of healing and recovery as
well as advice concerning ways of managing their stress and pain.
The patients in the control group
received no hypnotic intervention. One surgeon conducted all of the
operations and he was completely unaware as to which patients had been
given hypnotherapy.
The results revealed that those
patients in the control group experienced a significant rise in their
anxiety states immediately prior to the surgery, but those patients in the
hypnotherapy group did not show a rise in their anxiety states.
Furthermore, compared to the control
group, postoperative consumption of analgesics was significantly reduced
in the hypnotherapy group.
The study indicates that
hypnotherapy prior to dental surgery can significantly help patients
overcome anxiety and help them minimise the use of analgesics following
the surgery.
Enquist B & Fischer K.
Preoperative hypnotic techniques reduce consumption of analgesics after
surgical removal of third mandibular molars: a brief communication. Int J
Clin Exp Hypno April 1997 45(2) 102-8
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Laser acupuncture used as an analgesia in dentistry
Acupuncture has been used successfully for over 17 years as an alternative form of analgesia in dentistry. Recently, one of the largest studies ever undertaken demonstrated that laser acupuncture is without question an effective analgesic in dentistry.
In the study, laser acupuncture - involving a beam from a 2.8-6 mW helium-neon laser apparatus (Model CW-12, Chengdu Thermometer Factory) being delivered and focused on a red spot on the selected skin point of the patient - was used on 610 patients. 562 of them had difficult exodontia and the remaining 48 involved various minor operations in the oro-maxillofacial region. No other sedatives or analgesics were administered before or during the operations which were all completed satisfactorily with no side effects.
Zhou YC An advanced clinical trial with laser acupuncture anesthesia for minor
operations in the oro-maxillofacial region. Lasers Surg Med (UNITED STATES) 1984, 4 (3) p297-303
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Herbal
mouth rinse & Gingival Bleeding
Forty healthy
adult volunteers from the Junior Comprehensive Care Clinics at New York
University College of Dentistry were accepted as subjects for this
three-month, examiner-blinded, parallel-group clinical trial. To be eligible
for a baseline clinical examination, subjects had to first indicate that
during the previous six months they habitually brushed their teeth two or more
times per day and had noticed "bleeding gums" or "blood in the
toothpaste" after brushing or after flossing their teeth. At the baseline
examination, subjects were enrolled in the study if they were found to have at
least five Loe-Silness gingival bleeding sites and 20 natural teeth, including
four molars. Subjects were assigned to one of the two following treatment
groups: 1) Herbal Mouth and Gum Therapy; or 2) Control (distilled water and
dye). Subjects were instructed to clean their teeth in their usual manner, not
to use any other mouthrinses or oral irrigation products for the duration of
the study. Subjects were to return for clinical examinations after three
months of product use. At these examinations, gingivitis and gingival bleeding
scores were recorded. An independent t-test before treatment indicated that
there were no significant differences between the baseline evaluations of the
two groups in the study. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), comparing
gingivitis and bleeding scores from baseline and three months with the
baseline scores as a covariate, indicated that Herbal Mouth and Gum Therapy
produced a statistically significant effect (p < 0.01) on both parameters
relative to the control mouthrinse. The results of this study support the
clinical efficacy of Herbal Mouth and Gum Therapy in reducing gingivitis and
gingival bleeding.
J Clin Dent 1998;9(4):97-100,
Scherer W, Gultz J, Lee SS, Kaim J, New York University College of Dentistry,
NY, USA. wsch123@aol.com
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This page was last updated on 28 March 2001 11:26:54
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