Acupuncture considerably reduces pain intensity, tenderness, and jaw dysfunction in patients with orofacial pain, despite the noted high risk of bias in studies.
To assess the impact of various acupuncture types on pain reduction and improving jaw function in adults with orofacial pain, an extensive literature review was conducted across six databases up until June 2023. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to evaluate bias, and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) system was used for assessing overall evidence certainty. The study focused mainly on common acupoints used for patients with temporomandibular dysfunctions.
Despite the majority of studies reviewed (86.5%) exhibiting a high risk of bias, the findings indicated a significant decrease in pain intensity, tenderness, and jaw dysfunction amongst patients with myogenous and mixed TMD when acupuncture was compared to sham or no treatment. Certain acupoints, including Hegu LI 4, Jiache ST 6, and Xiaguan ST 7, were primarily employed for the treatment of TMDs. However, the evidence's overall certainty was considered very low according to the GRADE evaluations.
