5 Reasons Why Microcurrent Therapy Is Great For Dental Problems
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The role of microcurrent therapy in optimizing dental and oral health.
Dental health problems can cause a significant burden on a person's health, relationships, and overall well-being. Still, about 100 million Americans skip even a yearly visit to their dentist, which puts them at risk of developing dental disease.
With such stats, it's no surprise that dental diseases are some of the world's most commonly occurring chronic diseases. According to a 2017 estimate, 3.5 billion people have oral health problems.- that's more than half of the world's population.
So, we want to educate you about a painless treatment procedure for dental problems. Whether you are a dentist or just someone worried about their health, read ahead to find out how microcurrent therapy for dental and oral problems can help you.
Electromedicine In Dentistry
Electricity has been used in the field of medicine for a long time. In fact, it has been used to heal broken bones for more than 150 years. Luckily, it's gaining popularity to can help people regain health.
Microcurrent electrical therapy, a reasonably new technology used for tissue repair and pain relief in several clinical situations, has yet to be used much in dentistry. However, it has shown much promise.
Microcurrent therapy uses a small amount of current at the cellular level to reduce pain and speed up the healing of damaged and inflamed tissue. This makes it an excellent way to treat dental pain with fewer side effects than drugs. Let's look at some of its uses in dentistry.
Microcurrent Therapy For Gingivitis And Gum Disease
You might be taken aback to learn this- about 50% of adults have gingivitis, the mildest form of gum disease, to some degree. It is caused by your oral biofilm.
A biofilm is a bacterial layer that forms inside or on your body. Plaque is a type of dental biofilm. Plaque can harden into tartar, and can cause periodontal disease.
Microcurrent therapy is excellent for treating gingivitis. The FDA has started approving microcurrent toothbrushes for use by people. These brushes are just like regular brushes and require no particular expertise.
Microcurrent brushes have unique characteristics and are research-backed to improve gum disease. Bioelectromagnetic waves are used in microcurrent toothbrushes to remove biofilm, especially using antibiotics to ward off bacterial growth.
This external electric effect application changes a bacterial cell membrane's composition. When DC and AC are both applied to your oral biofilm simultaneously, the biofilm's metabolic stress rises quickly.
The biofilm starts to shrink because of this combination of electricity and antibiotics, called the bioelectric effect based on:
- electrostatic force
- media electrolysis
- inactivation of enzymes
- uneven distribution of electrolytes
- electrochemical changes in the environment.
The bioelectric effect is a promising way to treat periodontal disease and manage antimicrobial resistance by using microcurrent therapy as an adjunct to low doses of antibiotics.
Microcurrent Therapy For Gag Reflex During Dental Procedures
The gag reflex is a protective reaction of the muscles in your mouth. It stops foreign objects from entering the oropharynx. When you have a strong gag reflex, it can hurt the quality of dental work. There have been many ideas for dealing with this reflex, and acupuncture does not get much attention these days.
When paired with microcurrent electrical stimulation, it is called electropuncture. The primary mechanism is stimulating nerves by changing how pain transmitters work and how people feel pain.
It makes it easier for natural painkillers like endorphins and serotonin to be released. It has already been shown to work well for several dental procedures.
In a study from 2022, researchers checked the effect of microcurrent electrical stimulation on acupoints to control gag reflex in 30 patients receiving prosthodontic treatment:
The patients were randomly placed into groups A, B, or C. Each group had ten patients. Electroacupuncture was done for 1 minute on the auricular and the Hegus points for Groups A and B, respectively. Another acupuncture point was used as a placebo for Group C.
It was found that both Point A and Point B were very good at making the gag reflex less severe. Meanwhile, the placebo group didn't get any major benefit.
If anything, Point B (Hegus) worked better than Point A (auricular) at controlling the gag reflex in individuals between the ages of 20 and 70. So, there is plenty of evidence to back this use of microcurrent therapy in dentistry.
Microcurrent Therapy For Recovery From Dental Procedures
A 2020 randomized trial showed that when microcurrent electrotherapy was used to help heal people's palates (roof of the mouth) post-surgery, inflammatory wound healing markers changed for the better. Patient discomfort was also reduced.
When microcurrent stimulation is used on a body part, even externally, it can help your wounds heal faster by
- controlling cell migration
- improving cell growth
- stimulating angiogenesis, or the growth of new blood vessels.
- reducing inflammatory changes in your body.
Microcurrent Therapy For TMJ Problems
Microcurrent therapy creates a low electrical current that makes the body makes more ATP (the body's energy currency) in the affected area. The ATP relaxes the muscle tissue, which causes the lactic acid to leave the muscle and reduces pain in the area.
Physical therapies are used to treat chronic and acute pain in orthodontics. Microcurrent therapy is a powerful adjunct treatment. They are an alternative to medication for masticator muscle pain and TMJ problems.
A randomized controlled trial compared the effectiveness of TENS and MENS, transcutaneous and microcurrent forms of electric nerve stimulation for masticatory pain.
In this study, TENS and MENS improved mouth opening equally. However, microcurrent therapy relieved pain more quickly. Microcurrent is subthreshold, so TENS side effects like tingling and paresthesia do not occur with MENS therapy.
So, microcurrent therapy is even more effective than TENS for chronic masticatory muscle pain and mouth opening in disorders like TMJ.
Microcurrent Therapy For Dental Anxiety
Dental anxiety is fear, worry, or stress from going to the dentist. If you fear the dentist, you might put off or avoid getting dental care. Anxiety about the dentist can be caused by needles, drills, or just the dentist's office itself.
Luckily, Microcurrent therapy has been FDA-approved to help patients with anxiety. Overall, research results indicate microcurrent therapy's advantage in relieving anxiety symptoms.
If you want to reduce your dental anxiety during your next doctor's visit, do not forget to browse our catalog of anti-anxiety microcurrent headset devices!
To Wrap It Up: Each Home And Every Dental Clinic Can Benefit From A Microcurrent Device
Microcurrent therapy can be administered in various forms to help you maintain sound oral health. Electrical stimulation is great for all situations, from toothbrushes for regular use to handheld devices for dental procedures.