Acupuncture as therapeutic resource in the pain and in the severity of the temporomandibular disorder

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of acupuncture on the pain level and severity of the temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Forty women with TMD diagnosed by Research Diagnostic Criteria, from 20 and 40 years old, took part in the study. Pain was assessed by visual analogue scale and severity by the Craniomandibular Dysfunction and Fonseca Indexes. The first 20 volunteers were undergone to acupuncture twice a week for five weeks without interruption, and after they were reassessed. The results of these participants constituted acupuncture group. The other volunteers received the treatment after the first group and their data, collected in the beginning and after five weeks without treatment, were utilized as control. Statistical analysis of the pain and the Craniomandibular Index was carried out by the Wilcoxon test and the Fonseca index by the Student's t-test, with significance level of 5%. There was significant reduction in the pain level (p=0.000) and severity of TMD by the Craniomandibular (p=0.004) and Fonseca Indexes (p=0.000) after the treatment. The control group showed no improvement. The effectiveness of the acupuncture was demonstrated by the improvement in the pain and severity of TMD.