In a review of six trials with 800 patients, researchers used a points scale to measure anxiety and studies show that anxiety reduced by eight points when dental patients combined acupuncture with their treatment. This level of reduction is considered to be clinically relevant, which means that acupuncture could be a possibility for tackling dental anxiety. Over 120 studies across England, China, Spain, Portugal and Germany were recognised as having investigated the effects of acupuncture on patients prone to dental anxiety, and six trials were eligible for review, two of which demonstrated high quality methods. Studies that compared anxiety levels between patients that received acupuncture and those that did not, showed a significant difference in anxiety scores during dental treatment. A clinically relevant reduction in anxiety was found when acupuncture was compared with not receiving acupuncture.
The research is published in the
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