The Effect of Low Level Laser Therapy and Acupressure in Controlling Gag Reflex in Children Undergoing Dental Procedures

Abstract

Background: Impression making can be challenging in children due to the exaggerated gag reflex. It not only hinders the basic dental examination procedure but also delivery of the treatment procedure becomes more challenging. Aim: Comparative evaluation of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and in combination with acupressure in controlling gag reflex in children undergoing impression making procedure. Experimental Procedure: A total of 90 children (10.1 + 2.6) years were divided into three groups depending upon the strategies used. Group A received LLLT whereas group B received LLLT with acupressure and group C was placebo group. Each patient underwent two impressions to record GSI and GPI scores for all groups. Results: Mean values of GSI and GPI scores for each group were calculated at three different stages. The mean values revealed least gagging with LLLT as compared to LLLT with acupressure and placebo group at stage 1 (p-0.001) and stage 3 (p-0.000) which was statistically significant. Mean values of GPI score was less than GSI score at all three stages for all the groups except for stage 1 in group C, which was not statistically significant. Conclusion: LLLT and in combination with acupressure was effective in controlling gag reflex in comparison to acupressure in children undergoing impression making procedure. Keywords: Acupuncture, acupressure, acupoints, gag reflex, impression making.