An Austrian research group has shown that auricular acupuncture can be used to effectively reduce anxiety in patients awaiting dental treatment. A prospective, randomised, patient-blinded study involving 182 patients compared anxiety before dental treatment following three interventions; verum auricular acupuncture (Relaxation, Tranquillizer and Master Cerebral points), sham auricular acupuncture (Finger, Shoulder and Tonsil points) and no acupuncture (control group). Auricular acupuncture reduced state anxiety scores, more effectively than sham acupuncture (from 54.7 to 46.9 vs. 51.9 to 48.4). By contrast, anxiety in the control group increased from 51.0 to 54.0. The decrease in anxiety in both intervention groups was statistically significant compared with the non-intervention control group. After correcting for group differences in baseline state anxiety, the reduction in anxiety was 7.3 points in the auricular acupuncture group compared with 3.7 score points in the sham group. (Auricular acupuncture effectively reduces state anxiety before dental treatment-a randomised controlled trial. Clin Oral Investig. 2012 Jan 6. [Epub ahead of print]).
Categories: Psychological / emotional, Temperomandibular / Jaw