Alternative Medicine in Periodontal Therapy—A Review

Abstract

Periodontal diseases continue to be most commonly occurring oral diseases in modern times. Many therapeutic modalities have been tried and tested to relieve these problems. The conventional therapy--scaling and root planing (SRP)--stands out to be the most used mode of treatment, and other treatments remain applicable as adjuncts to SRP, including acupuncture, acupressure, and aromatherapy. The present article discusses the applications of the abovementioned therapeutic modes and their relevance in current scenarios. Alternative medicine may be preferred as an adjunct to conventional periodontal therapy to relieve pain, bad breath, gingival inflammation, mouth ulcers, and mouth sores.

Psychological aspects of temporomandibular disorder patients: evaluations after acupuncture treatment

“…These results were associated to the fact that splint group patients, aiming at making them aware of the TMD problem and the importance of the correct use of the splint, were informed about the disorder, changes in noxious habits and diet, that is behavioral and educational modalities, considered effective tools to control chronic pain, including TMD 2 . Statistical analysis has not found significant differences in depression and somatization (including and excluding pain) in the acupuncture group, fact which may have occurred due to individual differences, that is, individuals respond differently to acupuncture effects 21 , with different manifestations, which impair the identification of the number of needed acupuncture sessions 22 . According to the literature 23 , acupuncture sessions for chronic pain should initially be performed in alternate days or once a week, in a total of 10 sessions.…”

Evaluation of acupressure effect on reducing the need for dental injection in fixed prosthodontics

“…Instead, they attribute the results of acupressure technique to other factors, such as reduced muscle tension, improved blood circulation, and the stimulation of endorphins. 15,16 The release of Endorphins (endogenous opioids) as known play an important role in increasing the pain threshold. 17,18 Moreover, Psychologically, endorphin release is experienced as a mild opiate 'high', a corresponding feeling of well-being, reflecting the role that endorphins play as part of the pain control system.…”

Temporomandibular disorder pain improvement with acupuncture: preliminary longitudinal descriptive study

“…Acupuncture is used to treat TMD pain and other associated symptoms 16 . It is effective to relieve muscular pain and has the advantage of decreasing local inflammatory process, thus relieving pain, but in addition to relieving pain, one or more acupuncture sessions have benefits for general health, such as better fitness, better sleep patterns, appetite improvement and a sensation of well-being 15 , which are strategies to treat TMD based on decreasing symptoms and improving function and quality of life 4 . Acupuncture action mechanism is still not explained.…”