Acute dental
pain is the main reason for seeking dental services to provide urgent
dental care; there is consensus about the use of
alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, to control dental
pain in pre-
dental care. This study aimed to evaluate the use of acupuncture in reducing the intensity of acute dental
pain in pre-
dental care in patients waiting for emergency
dental care, and was conducted at the After-Hours Emergency Dental Clinic of Piracicaba Dental School, and at the Emergency Center Dental Specialties I in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. The sample consisted of 120 patients. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to measure
pain intensity. All patients underwent one session of acupuncture; the points LI4, ST44 and CV23 were selected and were used alone or in combinations. Reduction in
pain was observed in 120 patients (mean initial VAS=6.558±1.886, p<0; mean final VAS=0.962±2.163, p<0.00001). The results of this study indicate that
acupuncture analgesia could be a technical adjunct to
pain control in patients with acute dental
pain, contributing to the restoration of health with social benefit.