Natural Sciences, Stomotology, 2026
ISSN: 1829-006X
AURICULAR ACUPRESSURE AS AN ADJUNCT FOR POST-EXTRACTION PAIN MANAGEMENT: A CLINICAL INTERVENTIONAL STUDY
This is an open access article distributed under the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Submitted: 2026-04-08
© 2026 by author(s) and The Gufo Inc.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial International License
(CC BY-NC 4.0).
Abstract
Background:Post-extraction dental pain is a common issue that affects patient recovery and comfort. Conventional
pharmacological interventions, while effective, are often accompanied by undesirable side effects. As a result, there
is increasing interest in non-pharmacological approaches such as auricular acupressure, a traditional Chinese medicine technique, which involves stimulating specific points on the ear to alleviate pain.
Objectives:To assess the effectiveness of auricular acupressure in managing postoperative pain following dental
extraction compared to a placebo intervention.
Methods:This hospital-based interventional study was conducted in the dental outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. Ninety participants aged 18–60 years undergoing simple tooth extraction were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n=45) receiving auricular acupressure at the Shenmen point or a control group (n=45)
receiving pressure at non-therapeutic ear points. Pain was measured using the Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS) at three
time points: pre-operatively, post-operatively, and during a 3-day follow-up. Data were analyzed using non-parametric statistical methods, including the Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni-adjusted Mann-Whitney U tests.
Results:There was no significant difference in baseline pain levels between the two groups (p=0.117). However, postoperative and follow-up VDS scores were significantly lower in the auricular acupressure group compared to the
control group (p<0.001 for both). The intervention group demonstrated consistently reduced pain intensity over time,
indicating the effectiveness of auricular acupressure in managing postoperative dental pain.
Conclusion:Auricular acupressure is an effective, safe, and non-invasive complementary technique for reducing pain
following dental extractions. Its incorporation into postoperative care protocols may enhance patient comfort while
minimizing reliance on pharmacologic analgesics.