Abstract
Although electroacupuncture (EA) is an effective treatment for pain relief, there has been no systematic review of EA treatment for temporomandibular disorder TMD. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EA in TMD management. We searched 14 databases until April 2021 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of EA on TMDs. Eleven RCTs with 667 patients that used three acupuncture points (ST6, ST7, and LI4) were included. Two RCTs reported significant effects of EA plus microwave treatment compared with EA treatment alone on the total effectiveness rate (TER) for TMD. Further, two studies reported that compared with ultrashort wave alone, EA plus ultrashort wave had a significant effect on the TER for TMD and visual analog scale. All RCTs did not report adverse events. Our findings demonstrated the positive potential of EA in TMD management. However, there was weak evidence regarding EA use for TMD management given the poor quality and small sample sizes of the included studies. In the future, well-designed RCTs are required. It is necessary to investigate clinical trials and systematic reviews to compare the effectiveness and safety of EA and acupuncture for TMD.
Highlights
Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) is a generic term for various symptoms caused by abnormalities in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), surrounding muscles, and related tissues [1,2]
The reported prevalence of TMD varies widely across different studies, with most studies reporting that 40% to 60% of the population had one or more signs and 25% complained of pain [8,9]
Our systematic review protocol was registered in the international prospective register of systematic reviews under the registration number PROSPERO 2021: CRD42021229712
Summary
Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) is a generic term for various symptoms caused by abnormalities in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), surrounding muscles, and related tissues [1,2]. Symptoms and signs of TMDs include a limited or deviating range of motion, clicking with function, TMJ pain, pain on jaw opening, orofacial pain, and headache [1,3,4]. The TMJ is among the most frequently used body joints; TMD is a very common condition [6,7]. The reported prevalence of TMD varies widely across different studies, with most studies reporting that 40% to 60% of the population had one or more signs and 25% complained of pain [8,9]. The prevalence in females is twice that in males, which could be attributed to female hormones [8,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
