Comparison of the effects of acupuncture and codeine on postoperative dental pain

The analgesic effects of acupuncture were compared with those of codeine in the treatment of postoperative dental pain in 40 healthy male volunteers 18 to 30 years old. Upon the patient's recovery from local anesthesia (lidocaine), he was asked by a trained observer to classify the intensity of his pain as none, mild, moderate, or severe. He then received one of the following treatments: 1. Placebo: lactose, plus acupuncture placebo 2. Codeine: codeine, plus acupuncture placebo 3. Acupuncture (Ho-Ku): lactose, plus 2 Ho-Ku points 4. Codeine-acupuncture: codeine, plus 2 Ho-Ku points. The pain intensity score was recorded by the observer at half-hour intervals for 3 hours. Patients in treatment groups 2, 3 and 4 showed significantly greater pain relief than those in treatment group 1. For the 1st half hour, there was more pain relief with Ho-Ku alone than with codeine plus Ho-Ko (p less than 0.01). However, for the 2, 2 1/2, and 3-hour periods, codeine plus Ho-Ku produced more pain relief than any of the other treatments.