Abstract
Purpose
Laser acupuncture, a non-invasive variant of acupuncture, has been proven effective in the medical and dental fields. Hence, the present study aims to determine the effect of low-level laser therapy on the LI4 point, using a laser acupuncture pen, in reducing children’s pain during local anesthetic (LA) administration.
Methods
Children in the age range of 8–12 years, in need of LA administration, were randomly assigned to two groups: Group I: laser acupuncture, Group II: control. For all the children, baseline simplified Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale-Faces version (MCDAS(f)) was recorded, followed by laser acupuncture or standard care. Following the conventional protocol, LA was administered. The procedural pain was assessed using the Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability scale (FLACC) and Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R). All the variations in pulse rate were recorded from baseline to the completion of LA administration. After the procedure, simplified MCDAS(f) was recorded one more time. The data were tabulated and analyzed statistically.
Results
A significant reduction in anxiety after LA administration, as observed in MCDAS(f) score, was noticed only in the laser acupuncture group. The pain scores, as reported in FPS-R, were low in children randomized to the laser group compared to the control. The FLACC pain scores also showed low values in the experimental group.
Conclusion
Based on the study findings, within the limitations, low-level laser therapy using a laser acupuncture pen can reduce the pain perception of children undergoing LA administration and alleviate dental anxiety.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armond AC, Glória JC, Dos Santos CR, Galo R, Falci SG. Acupuncture on anxiety and inflammatory events following surgery of mandibular third molars: a split-mouth, randomized, triple-blind clinical trial. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2019;48:274–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijom.2018.07.016.
Asadi N, Maharlouei N, Khalili A, Darabi Y, Davoodi S, Shahraki HR, et al. Effects of LI-4 and SP-6 acupuncture on labor pain, cortisol level and duration of labor. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2015;8:249–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2015.08.003.
Au DW, Tsang HW, Ling PP, Leung CH, Ip PK, Cheung WM. Effects of acupressure on anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acupunct Med. 2015;33:353–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/acupmed-2014-010720.
Avisa P, Kamatham R, Vanjari K, Nuvvula S. Effectiveness of acupressure on dental anxiety in children. J Pediatr Dent. 2018;40:177–83.
Baxter GD, Bleakley C, McDonough S. Clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture: a systematic review. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2008;1:65–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2005-2901(09)60026-1.
Chopra A, Kaur A, Sethi M, Khan F, Mohan P, Sharma N. Needleless acupuncture using low-level laser therapy. Indian J Dent Sci. 2019;11:164. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijds.ijds_25_18.
Cianetti S, Paglia L, Gatto R, Montedori A, Lupatelli E. Evidence of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for the management of dental fear in paediatric dentistry: a systematic review protocol. BMJ Open. 2017;7:e016043. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016043.
Dahlander A, Soares F, Grindefjord M, Dahllof G. Factors associated with dental fear and anxiety in children aged 7 to 9 years. J Dent. 2019;7:68. https://doi.org/10.3390/dj7030068.
Daneshkazemi A, Daneshkazemi P, Davoudi A, Badrian H, Firouzabadi VP. Is acupuncturing effective in controlling the gag reflex during dental procedures? A review of literature. Anesth Essays Res. 2016;10:173. https://doi.org/10.4103/0259-1162.177182.
Elbay M, Tak O, Elbay US, Kaya C, Eryılmaz K. The use of low-level laser therapy for controlling the gag reflex in children during intraoral radiography. Lasers Med Sci. 2016;31:355–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-016-1869-z.
Farivar S, Malekshahabi T, Shiari R. Biological effects of low level laser therapy. J Lasers Med Sci. 2014;5:58–62.
Fawaz MA, El-Sharkawy NB. Effect of LI4 (Hoku point) massage with ice on labor duration during the active phase of labor among women delivering at El Manial university maternity hospital. Egypt Nurs J. 2016;13:178–85. https://doi.org/10.4103/2090-6021.200179.
Galui S, Pal S, Mahata S, Saha S, Sarkar S. Laser and its use in pediatric dentistry: a review of literature and a recent update. Int J Pedod Rehabil. 2019;4:1–5. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpr.ijpr_17_18.
Garbelotti TO, Turci AM, Serigato JM, Pizzol KE, Franco-Micheloni AL. Effectiveness of acupuncture for temporomandibular disorders and associated symptoms. Rev Dor. 2016;17:223–7. https://doi.org/10.5935/1806-0013.20160076.
Gil ML, Marinho LM, de Moraes M, Wada RS, Groppo FC, Sato JE, de Sousa ML. Effectiveness of acupuncture in dental surgery: a randomized, crossover, controlled trial. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2020;13:104–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2020.03.063.
Gold JI, Nicolaou CD, Belmont KA, Katz AR, Benaron DM, Yu W. Pediatric acupuncture: a review of clinical research. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009;64:429–39. https://doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nem181.
Grillo CM, Wada RS, de Sousa MD. Acupuncture in the management of acute dental pain. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2014;7:65–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2013.03.005.
Harris PE. Acupressure: a review of the literature. Complement Ther Med. 1997;5:156–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0965-2299(97)80059-3.
Hicks CL, von Baeyer CL, Spafford P, van Korlaar I, Goodenough B. The faces pain scale – revised: toward a common metric in pediatric pain measurement. Pain. 2001;93:173–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3959(01)00314-1.
Howard KE, Freeman R. Reliability and validity of a faces version of the modified child dental anxiety scale. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2007;17:281–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-263x.2007.00830.x.
Kong SP, Tan QW, Liu Y, Jing XH, Zhu B, Huo YJ, Nie BB, Yang DH. Specific correlation between the Hegu point (LI4) and the orofacial part: evidence from an fMRI study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/585493.
Li F, He T, Xu Q, Lin LT, Li H, Liu Y, Shi GX, Liu CZ. What is the acupoint? A preliminary review of acupoints. Pain Med. 2015;16:1905–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/pme.12761.
Lin JG, Chen WL. Acupuncture analgesia: a review of its mechanisms of actions. Am J Chin Med. 2008;36:635–45. https://doi.org/10.1142/s0192415x08006107.
Lin YC, Lee AC, Kemper KJ, Berde CB. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in pediatric pain management service: a survey. Pain Med. 2005;6:452–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2005.00071.x.
Longhurst JC. Defining meridians: a modern basis of understanding. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2010;3:67–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2005-2901(10)60014-3.
Mehta P, Dhapte V, Kadam S, Dhapte V. Contemporary acupressure therapy: adroit cure for painless recovery of therapeutic ailments. J Tradit Complement Med. 2017;7:251–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2016.06.004.
Merkel S, Voepel-Lewis T, Malviya S. Pain assessment in infants and young children: the FLACC scale: a behavioral tool to measure pain in young children. Am J Nurs. 2002;102:55–8. https://doi.org/10.1097/00000446-200210000-00024.
Merskey N. Classificaiton of chronic pain; Description of chronic pain syndromes and definitions of pain terms. Task Force Taxon Int Assoc Study Pain. 1994;3:41–3.
Michalek-Sauberer A, Gusenleitner E, Gleiss A, Tepper G, Deusch E. Auricular acupuncture effectively reduces state anxiety before dental treatment- a randomized controlled trial. Clin Oral Investig. 2012;16:1517–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-011-0662-4.
Naik PN, Kiran RA, Yalamanchal S, Kumar VA, Goli S, Vashist N. Acupuncture: an alternative therapy in dentistry and its possible applications. Med Acupunct. 2014;26:308–14. https://doi.org/10.1089/acu.2014.1028.
Narayan VK, Samuel SR. Appropriateness of various behavior rating scales used in pediatric dentistry: a review. J Global Oral Health. 2019;2:112–7. https://doi.org/10.25259/jgoh_64_2019.
Saita N, Fukuda K, Koukita Y, Ichinohe T, Yamashita S. Relationship between gagging severity and its management in dentistry. J Oral Rehabil. 2013;40:106–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.12014.
Salehi A, Marzban M, Imanieh MH. The evaluation of curative effect of acupuncture: a review of systematic and meta-analysis studies. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2016;21:202–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587215598422.
Shim YS, Kim AH, Jeon EY, An SY. Dental fear and anxiety and dental pain in children and adolescents; A systemic review. J Dent Anesth Pain Med. 2015;15:53–61. https://doi.org/10.17245/jdapm.2015.15.2.53.
Sierpina VS, Frenkel MA. Acupuncture: a clinical review. South Med J. 2005;98:330–7. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.smj.0000140834.30654.0f.
Sing T, Yang MM. Electroacupuncture and laser stimulation treatment: evaluated by somatosensory evoked potential in conscious rabbits. Am J Chin Med. 1997;25:263–71. https://doi.org/10.1142/s0192415x97000299.
Umemoto K, Naito M, Tano K, Terayama H, Koike T, Ohmichi M, Ohmichi Y, Sakabe K, Nakano T. Acupuncture point “Hegu” (LI4) is close to the vascular branch from the superficial branch of the radial nerve. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/6879076.
Usichenko T, Wolters P, Santamaria R, Leutzow B, Meissner K, Splieth C. Acupuncture reduces pain during injection of local anaesthetic in paediatric dentistry- a randomized crossover trial: 10AP2-10. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2012;29:159. https://doi.org/10.1097/00003643-201206001-00523.
Wong LB. Acupuncture in dentistry: its possible role and application. Proc Singapore Healthc. 2012;21:48–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/201010581202100108.
Yang J, Mallory MJ, Wu Q, Bublitz SE, Do A, Xiong D, Chen CYY, Dorsher PT, Chon TY, Bauer BA. The safety of laser acupuncture: a systematic review. Med Acupunct. 2020;32:209–17. https://doi.org/10.1089/acu.2020.1419.
Zhou W, Benharash P. Effects and mechanisms of acupuncture based on the principle of meridians. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2014;7:190–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2014.02.007.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge all the children for their participation and their parents for their consent.
Funding
No funding was received for conducting this study. There was no financial support from any company/agency. It was a self-funded study done as a part of the academic curriculum.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Concept and design: RK. Acquisition of data: BP, PA. Analysis and interpretation of data: RK, BP. Drafting or revising the article: RK, KA.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Ethical approval
The study obtained clearance from the institutional ethical committee.
Informed consent
No identification details of the participants are attached for publication purpose.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Pooja, B., Kamatham, R., Anchala, K. et al. Effectiveness of low-level laser therapy in reducing pain perception of children during dental local anesthetic administration using laser acupuncture pen on the LI4 point: a randomized clinical trial. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent 24, 219–227 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-023-00780-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-023-00780-8