Auricular acupuncture in TMD — A sham-controlled, randomized, clinical trial

• Published in: Complementary therapies in clinical practice Vol. 48; p. 101569
• Main Authors: Aroca, Janaina Paula, Cardoso, Poliana Maria de Faveri, Favarão, Jamille, Zanini, Mauricio Matté, Camilotti, Veridiana, Busato, Mauro Carlos Agner, Mendonça, Marcio José, Alanis, Luciana Reis Azevedo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2022
• Subjects: Alternative medicine; Auriculotherapies; Craniomandibular disorder; Occlusal splint; Orofacial pain; Temporomandibular joint; Occlusal splint; Temporomandibular joint; Auriculotherapies; Craniomandibular disorder; Orofacial pain; Alternative medicine
• ISSN: 1744-3881; 1873-6947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101569

This study evaluated the effect of auricular acupuncture (AA) on physical (PA) and emotional (EA) aspects of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) and compared the effect of AA with those of Sham and occlusal splints (OS). In accordance with the CONSORT guidelines, patients with TMDs were evaluated by axes I and II of the RDC-TMD. The patients were allocated among three groups: OS, Sham and AA; and followed for 8 weeks. Both intragroup and intergroup evaluation for quantitative variables were analyzed with ANOVA, one-way, followed by the Tukey test. Qualitative variables were analyzed with the Kruskal–Wallis, and Dunn tests (intergroup evaluation) and for intragroup analyses, the Friedman and Wilcoxon tests were applied. At the end of the experiment, the chi-squared test was applied to compare the three groups with respect to the number of variables that had shown improved scores. The adopted level of significance for all tests was α = 5%. Intragroup analysis showed that, in the Sham group, no improvement in performance was seen in either EA and significant was improvements in 5 variables for 9 for PA, while in the AA group, significant improvements were observed in 2 variables for EA and in 9 for PA. In the OS group at the end of this study, significant improvements were observed in 8 and 8 variables for EA and PA, respectively. The analysis of therapies used revealed that the number of variables exhibiting significantly improved outcomes after treatment was similar between the AA and OS groups, whereas the sham group showed statistically significant differences when compared with the other two groups. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that AA applied at a specific TMJ ear point was able to bring about improvements in patients with TMDs, with outcomes similar to those in patients treated with an OS. RBR-69ynnw (Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials). •Acupuncture.•Orofacial pain.•Alternative medicine.•Temporomandibular joint.