Originally, acupuncture was a characteristic component of traditional Chinese medicine. It is used in various areas of medicine today. (Photo: holbox/Shutterstock)

2013-12-13 | News Europe

PALERMO, Italy: As many patients avoid dental appointments because of severe gagging when certain work is performed, such as impression taking, researchers from Italy have investigated several methods to alleviate the reflex. They found that acupuncture can be effective in reducing gagging during dental treatment.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Palermo, involved 20 patients, aged 19–80, with a history of gag reflex on dental impressions being taken. 

Among other findings, the scientists observed that the gag reflex scores were significantly reduced in patients who had undergone acupuncture prior to the procedure. For maxillary impressions, the scores fell from 6.8 to 1.1, and from 5.45 to 0.4 for mandibular impressions. 

“The findings from our study suggest that acupuncture may be useful for preventing and treating gag reflex, and justify further study,” the researchers concluded. 

The study, titled “Gag reflex control through acupuncture: A case series”, was published online on 5 November in the Acupuncture in Medicine journal ahead of print.