You have full access to this open access article. The aim of this split-mouth, randomized, placebo-controlled, and triple-blind study was to evaluate whether auriculotherapy had any effect on the post-operative course after the extraction of third molars in terms of the control of pain, edema, and trismus.
The study included 42 patients 84 teeth who had undergone a surgical extraction of the lower third molars. In each patient, the two extractions were randomly assigned to two study groups. In the therapy group, the patients underwent auriculotherapy with vaccaria seeds applied with patches in 6 ear points. In the control group, the patches were applied, without seeds, to the same ear points. After the extraction, the patients were asked to stimulate the ear points three times a day and whenever they felt pain.
The patients were asked to keep a diary in which they assessed their pain by means of the Visual Analog Scale VAS for 8 days. Edema and trismus were assessed 1, 2, 3, and 8 days after surgery. The differences between the two groups were statistically significant at the h control auriculotherapy group AG VAS 5.
There were no significant differences in the levels of edema and trismus between the two groups throughout the observation period. On the basis of the results of the present study, auriculotherapy can be considered as a cost-effective adjuvant pain reliever treatment in patients undergoing an extraction of the lower third molars. Third molar extraction is one of the most commonly performed procedures in oral surgery. Pain, edema, and trismus represent the most common sequelae of this surgery and, even if only temporarily, significantly reduce the quality of life of these patients [ 1 , 2 ].
Several therapies have been proposed to reduce the severity of these complications [ 3 ], including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAID , acetaminophen, opioids, corticosteroids, antibiotics, and cryotherapy.
