Acupuncture Continuing Education
The journal entry 'The Use of Acupuncture in Implant Dentistry' from Implant Dentistry, Vol. 13, No.1 2004, covers the importance of integrating acupuncture into a dental practice. The major benefits of acupuncture to a dental practice include acupuncture's ability to control the gagging reflex, postoperative hyperemesis, and postoperative pain. Acupuncture is also noted as enhancing anesthetic effects with electroacupuncture. Acupuncture also benefits implant dentistry by controlling anxiety, increasing saliva production to address xerostomia, enhancing the immune system, and managing temporomandibular dysfunction. The journal entry notes that acupuncture assists in smoking cessation, improves bone quality, controls diabetes mellitus, and stimulates peripheral nerve regeneration. The success of acupuncture for smoking cessation is well documented in a variety of studies and has significant implications for dentistry. The International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants (1993; 8:609-615) notes that the failure rate of dental implants for non-smokers is 4.76% but is 11.28% for smokers. The Healthcare Medicine Institute supports the use of acupuncture to improve the success rate for dental implants.