Use of acupuncture in the treatment of temporomandibular dysfunction

Abstract

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine tool used to harmonize human body physiology, restore impaired functions and cure diseases by means of applying needles at specific points on the body surface. It has proven effects of local and central analgesic action, anti-inflammatory action, anxiolytic action and improved immune defence. Temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) is of complex and multifactorial aetiology because involves anatomical, occlusal, muscular and psychological factors. In order to evaluate the efficiency of Chinese acupuncture in the treatment of these disorders, 20 fully dentate volunteers aged 18 to 30 years were selected, divided into moderate TMD and severe TMD (n=5), treated with traditional Chinese acupuncture or sham acupuncture (control groups). All volunteers were treated with ten sessions of acupuncture, one per week, in which the needles were inserted in local and distant points to the temporomandibular joint, so that there was organism restoration and the remission or reduction of symptoms. The results showed that the technique used was effective in the control and remission of temporomandibular dysfunction signs, and all volunteers, at the end of treatment, were considered non temporomandibular patients.