Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1992 Mar; 73(3): 293-8.

The effect of acupuncture on salivary flow rates in patients with xerostomia.

Blom M, Dawidson I, Angmar-MÃ¥nsson B.

Department of Cardiology, School of Dentistry, Karolinska Institutet.

Of 21 patients with severe xerostomia, 11 were treated with acupuncture and 10 patients received placebo acupuncture. Those patients who received acupuncture treatment showed increased salivary flow rates during and after the acupuncture treatment. The improved salivary values persisted during the observation year, whereas the patients who received placebo acupuncture showed some improvement of salivary flow rates only during the actual treatment. The results of the present study indicate that acupuncture may be a useful adjunct for the stimulation of salivary flow in some patients with xerostomia.