Acupuncture for Dental Pain is more Effective than Analgesics

Acupuncture for dental pain
Indian researchers studying the effectiveness of acupuncture for dental pain, have found it offers better pain relief than analgesics for inflamed dental pulp. A total of 157 patients aged 18 to 49, were randomly allocated to receive either real acupuncture plus placebo drug, sham acupuncture plus placebo drug, or sham acupuncture plus ibuprofen. All participants had been diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis at the SRM Dental College, Tamil Nadu, and were in moderate to severe pain.

Patients treated with real acupuncture reported faster, more sustained pain relief compared with the other treatment arms. The authors conclude that acupuncture is a safer and more effective alternative to analgesics for management of pain in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

(Comparison of Acupuncture with Ibuprofen for Pain Management in Patients with Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis: A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial. Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies, December 2017.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.