The Use of Acupuncture in Implant Dentistry

The Use of Acupuncture in Implant Dentistry
March 2004
Vachiramon, Amornpong DDS, DBA, MSc(OMS), MSc(Ortho)*; Wang, Wendy C. BDS, MSc, MClinDentÇƒÜ; Vachiramon, Tharin DDS, MPHÇƒ?
Implant Dentistry: Volume 13(1) March 2004 pp 58-64
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
*Private practice, Bangkok, Thailand.
ÇƒÜPrivate practice, London, United Kingdom.
Çƒ?Private practice, Bangkok, Thailand.
Reprint requests and correspondence to:
Amornpong Vachiramon, DDS, DBA, MSc(OMS), MSc(Ortho)
207 Gray's Inn Road
London, WC1X8UW, United Kingdom
Fax: (44 20) 78338620
E-mail: amornpong@vachiramon.com
Abstract TOP
This article aims to review how acupuncture can provide complimentary treatments to patients through implant rehabilitation. The following topics are discussed: control of gagging reflex, control of postoperative vomiting, control of postoperative pain, enhance anesthetic effects, control of anxiety, increase saliva production, enhance immune responses, management of temporomandibular dysfunction, smoking cessation, control diabetic mellitus, stimulation of peripheral nerve regeneration, and adverse effects.
Acupuncture has been widely practiced in China to treat various diseases for 3000 years. According to the Chinese philosophy, there are 12 primary and 8 additional meridians in the body; each flows its directorial course in the body. When the normal flow of energy over a meridian is obstructed, symptoms result. 1 Acupuncture aims to restore the flow of the energy by inserting fine needles into different parts of the body so as to relieve the symptoms. 1 Despite its long history, the therapeutic effects of acupuncture have often been looked on with skepticism, and its action is often described as being a placebo. However, with more patients willing to try alternative medicine, 2 acupuncture is gaining popularity. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates that 9 million to 12 million acupuncture treatments are provided each year in the United States. 3 Various controlled studies have demonstrated that acupuncture in dentistry provided more than placebo effects. 4 It is now generally accepted that when fine needles are inserted into the various acupuncture points, small myelinated nerve fibers in muscles are stimulated, which then send impulses to the spinal cord and subsequently activate 3 centers: the spinal cord, the midbrain, and the pituitary-hypothalamus. It has also been shown that various endogenous substances such as beta-endorphin, noradrenaline, enkephalin, and serotonin are involved in the process. 5 This article aims to review how acupuncture can provide complimentary treatments to patients through implant rehabilitation.
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