Efeitos da eletroacupuntura no controle da ansiedade em pacientes submetidos à exodontia de terceiros molares: estudo piloto

Abstract

Introduction: Fear and anxiety are common feelings in patients who need dental treatment, representing a barrier to the care of the professional. Because of this, several anxiety reduction alternatives are used, in order to minimize these adversities in relation to dental care. Objective: To compare the effects of Electroacupuncture with Midazolam in the control of anxiety in pa- tients undergoing third molar extraction. Subjects and methods: Twenty volunteers were eval- uated at the outpatient clinic of the Department of Dentistry of the Federal University of Sergipe for extractions from third molar thirds. Surgeries took place in two sessions, one side with a 1 tablet of Midazo-lam 15mg and the other with Electroacupuncture applied at the following points: GV24, EX-HN3 (Yintang), F3, IG4 and B60. The following parameters were evaluated: mean arterial pressure, heart rate, peripheral oxygen saturation and degree of anxiety. Result: There were no statistically significant differences between the protocols on BP, HR and SpO2 considering each time independently. More than 70% of the volunteers declared themselves with low anxiety levels, both when undergoing electrocution-puncture surgery and midazolam. Among the adverse effects, drowsiness was the most reported effect when administered Mid- azolam. Eletroacupuntura had as a side effect the muscular relaxation. Conclusion: It was con- cluded that Electroacupuncture presented an anxiolytic effect similar to Midazolam, being safe and effective in the conscious sedation of patients submitted to third molar extractions.