Toothache — wind-heat

Star

Textbook Prescriptions Pain — Dental

Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture (Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing Colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1980) — the standard prescriptions of the Chinese colleges.

Points

LI4 Hegu opposite side to the pain

Yuan-Source of the Large Intestine; disperses heat from the channel to the teeth

Reduce.
- Pregnancy: contraindicated
ST44 Neiting bilateral

Ying-Spring (water) point of the Stomach; drains stomach fire

Reduce.
ST7 Xiaguan affected side

Local Stomach point at the jaw; relieves pain

Reduce.
ST6 Jiache affected side

Local Stomach point at the jaw; relieves pain

Reduce.
GB20 Fengchi bilateral

Gall Bladder point at the nape; expels wind and reduces fire

Reduce.
- ⚠ Spinal cord / medulla

Needling Safety

Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.

GB20 Fengchi
- ⚠ Spinal cord / medulla risk: deep or misdirected insertion can enter the spinal canal. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 2 (Central nervous system injury associated with acupuncture); World Health Organization 1999, Section II §5.2 (Central nervous system), p. 25

Treatment Principle

Clear heat and stop pain with reducing technique, mainly at Large Intestine and Stomach points.

Indications

swollen, painful gumsthirst with a liking for cold drinksconstipationred tongue with yellow coatingrapid pulse

Method

Reducing technique; LI4 is needled on the side opposite the pain.

⚠ Cautions

Dental abscess, facial swelling, fever or trismus need dental or medical care, as spreading dental infection can become dangerous; acupuncture is symptomatic relief, not a substitute for dental treatment. LI4 is contraindicated in pregnancy.

About

The college prescription for toothache of the wind-heat type, from heat built up in the stomach and intestines flaring upward together with an external pathogen.

Rationale

Contralateral LI4 drains heat from the Large Intestine channel, which crosses to the opposite side of the face. ST44, the spring point and the water point of the Stomach channel, lowers stomach fire, and GB20 expels wind and reduces fire. ST7 and ST6 act locally at the jaw.

Clinical Notes

The book says its toothache section covers acute and chronic pulpitis, dental caries, periodontal abscess and pericoronitis.

Sources

Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1980. Chapter III, Toothache, p. 394–395.

📝 Notes

Public notes from the community and your own private notes on Toothache — wind-heat.

No notes yet.

Back to Point Combinations