Gum disease is usually either gingivitis, a mild form of the problem that causes bad breath and bleeding gums, or the more advanced condition of periodontitis, an infection that can lead to tooth loss or surgery. Acupuncture offers treatments for gum disease that can reduce pain and inflammation. Nationally certified acupuncturist Mark Shprintz, graduate of the esteemed Emperor's College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, always recommends that his patients seeking care for gum disease also see a dentist.
Causes and Treatments
Gingivitis usually begins with plaque. The Mayo Clinic explains that if patients leave gum disease unchecked, inflammation occurs and can create pockets between your gums and teeth that fill with bacteria. If the problem escalates, you might face procedures such as root planning and soft tissue grafts. Shprintz describes "a window of appropriateness and effectiveness" for treating gum disease with acupuncture. Acupuncture can help deal with gum disease, but acupuncture treatments don't preclude the need to work with a dentist and have recommended surgical procedures.
Acupuncture Approach
Acupuncture uses needles in a system of moving energy through the body to restore balance. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) works to identify a whole pattern of symptoms, which often leads to a diagnosis involving certain channels, or meridians, along the body. These channels often relate to organs. Acupuncture.com notes that tooth and gum disease can point to a deficiency of the kidney and spleen, whereas excess or acute conditions can indicate too much heat in the stomach or large Intestine.
Needle Placements
When treating pain and inflammation, acupuncturists often combine tender or sore points focused at the area of a patient's complaint with other remote or distant points along the same or related energy meridian. For example, to alleviate the pain of gingivitis, an acupuncturist may select points on the face or jaw and also place a needle on the hand between the thumb and first finger to address inflammation. This point in the fleshy area on the top of the hand is called LI4 (large intestine point four). If a patient has swelling and bleeding after dental work, the acupuncturist may pair LI4 with a point on the foot between the second and third toes. This point is called ST44 (stomach point 44), and Shprintz says it's particularly effective in "clearing heat from the stomach meridian." Acupuncturists reach the jaws, teeth and the whole front of the face by treating the interconnected stomach and large intestine meridians.
Differences in Treatment
If a patient's gum disease includes suffering from TMJ (tempromandibular joint disorder) and headaches, an acupuncturist might use a localized approach to decrease pain. In this method, he uses needles on tender points along the joint. Some acupuncturists don't use localized techniques and only practice what's called "the balance method" by solely working along the channels and meridians. Shprintz describes his approach to gum disease as a wheel trying to pull energy away from certain areas of the body to create dynamic movement throughout the system.
Herbal Remedies
Most acupuncturists also use herbs to balance the body's systems when they deal with gum disease. Shprintz says that acupuncturists use these herbs to stimulate the metabolism and raise your body energy. With TCM, prescribing herbs is never as simple as trying one particular herb, for example ginseng, for a particular symptom such as low energy. Acupuncturists work within a spectrum of possibilities to restore balance instead of just pushing the body in one direction.
Tags: channels meridians, Chinese Medicine, deal with, deal with disease, pain inflammation