The use of laserpuncture in the energetic regulation of patients with orofacial pain

• Grant number: 21/05103-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2021
• End date: September 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Social and Preventive Dentistry
• Principal Investigator: Maria da Luz Rosario de Sousa
• Grantee: Natália Avagliano Alvarenga Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba (FOP). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The energy regulation used prior to clinical procedures can contribute to an improvement in clinical response. Acupuncture has been used as an adjuvant approach in clinical care due to its anti-inflammatory effect, myorelaxation, and activator of immune function in the human body, and recently, with the verification of the effectiveness of energy regulation, it has been used prior to dental surgery to reduce intraoperative bleeding and edema, which makes this topic an interesting one to be researched. Although there are studies that prove the use of laserpuncture as an adjuvant treatment in dentistry, there are no studies that evaluate a possible energy regulation of patients through the use of laserpuncture. This is a clinical, blind, randomized study. The sample will be 120 volunteers who are out of energy balance patterns and with pain due to temporomandibular dysfunction of muscular origin. They will be divided into 4 groups: acupuncture control group (ACG), laser test group (LTG), and their respective placebos. The energy regulation in the ACG will be done with conventional needling; in the LTG the regulation will be done through a low-power laser. That said, just as energy regulation through acupuncture has already proven effective, it is expected that the same will be possible with laserpuncture.(AU)