Oral Acupuncture

Summary
The oral mucosa affers non tnditional acupoints,
forming an acupunclure mic/osystemthat may be
used for treatmenloi diseasethroughoutthe body.
Throughpalpationol tenderspotsthis systemcan be
an aid to diagnosis,or by injection of tiny volumes
of normal saline or local anaestheticit can be used
as an effective treatment. Oral acupuncture has
been clinically testedover a perioclof 25 yearsand
has proved effective fot a variety of diseases.
Additionally,rclationshipswith inte'nal organsand
bod) a, ul'oin' harc bcen cletnon.ttaetJ.

two midlinemeridians;i.e. a circulafvesseJ

within
the oraJcavitt runningalong the orbicularisoris
muscle and meeting in the wisdom tooth and
retfomolar
areas,

Relation to intenal organs

Voll and Kramer investigatedthe energy links
betweenteeth, includingperiodontaltissue,and
internal organs and functions by performing
electricalmeasurernents
while drillingteeth.These
measurements
were made al lraditionalacupoints
with known relationshipsto internal organs.
Traumatisationol the respectiveteeth teaclsto a
Key words
temporarychangeof the bio-electricbehaviourof
Acupuncture microsystems,Mouth, Oral acupunctute, theirrelatedbody acupoints.
As theyfoundthat rhe
Teeth.
inner organsand their functionsare completely
repfesented
within the dental system,this for..s
Introduction
anotherholographic
sornatotopy,
or microsystem,
of
A usefulholographicsomatotopyis to be found in the body.
the mucousmembrane
of the oral cavity,linkingthe
Thus, accordingto Dr Voll'sfindings,ihere is a
teeth,tsingiva,lips and cheeksto all partsof the mutualcorrelation
betweenthe respective
teeth,the
oryanismand its functions.This microsystemof meridiansand the five functionalcircuits-The oral
acupuncture
was discovered25 yearsago and has points are situatedadjacentto the teeth, namely
been used by dntistsand acupuncturists
in many labiodenrally
and buccodentally,
and are suitable
countries
bothlor treatment
air)and diagnosis.
The phenomenon of the microsystemwas They may be used for treatment becauseof the
originallydiscovered
by Dr Nogierof France,some reflexmechanism
which linl<s
them to lhe respective
iortyyearsago.Sincehe madehisfindings,we have internalorgansand functions.Systemattc
treatment
becomefamiliarwilh the existenceof a complete of points,where it neutralises
the previousstateof
holographic
somatotopy
of the humanbodyon each irritationwithin the points,rnaylrigBeroff positive
auricle.Whilst some singleear pointswefe l<nown and instantaneous
effectson the internalfunctions
and used in traditional Chinese acupuncture, involved.
_lhey
modernsystematicauriculotherapy
has becomea
are suitablefor diagnosis
becausethey show
veryrefinedand eflectivemethodof acupuncture. up only during a state oi irritation,signaliing
Specificmucosalpointssuitablefor therapywere functionaldisorderor stressof the innef organ.As
describedas eariy as 1895 by the Cermandoctor lon8 as they afe not signallinB,the microsystem
ProfessorFliess.In the nasal mucosa he found points afe not detectabJe.
This characteristic
of
certainpointsby meansof which he was alrle to beingstrictlyreactiveis sharedby all microsystem
iniluencedisordersof the digestiveand uro ilenital points and distinguishes
them from the general
systemsas well as migraineand cervical spine acupoints
of the body.
0rsoroers.
As the mucousmembraneis more sensitivethan
Oniy two traditionalChineseacupuncturepoints the skin,the irritationof oral acupointsoftenaffects
were known and used in the mouth:the terminal the sufroundingtissueas well. For instance:the
p o i ' 1 . o f l h p l \ ^ o m i d ln . m e - : d i d n .B o ! e n r n B adjacentarea of the mucousmembranebecomes
vesseJand conception vessel, siiuated at the sensitive
to pressure/
or the point areashowssmall
frenulumof the upperand lower jaw respectively.indurations
of a slightoedematous
swelling.Strictly
Dr Voll, the developerof Voll electroacupunctufe,localisedgingivitis,or a gingival ulcer, may be
suggested
that the energyflow does not end at these causedby an irritationof the ofal pointarea.Thus,if
terminalpoints,but that thereis a link betweenthe the therapjstis familiarwith the reJationships
of the
May1995Val l3 No.l

15

A.upu ncture in Me.licine

o24 O25 Lung/LalgoLnlestLne

026 027Sp osdstomacch

relatedto the gallbladderand liver meridians;the

Iower premolarsand uppef molarsare relatedto the
stomach and spleen meridians;the lower molars
and upper premolars are related to the large
and the wisdomteeth
intestineand lung meridians;
are related to the small intestine and heart
meridians.

Anatomical position
The oral aclpoints had not been used for therapy
until their recent discovery,although dentistshave
used local anaestheticinjections in the immediate
neighbourhood of these points. Dentists usually
direct their iniection vertically towards the root
apex. The oral acupoints, however, are situated
1-2cm away from the apex,on the insideof the lips
andcheeks.
The therdpeuticindication\of oral acupointscdn
o34 o35 spleedslomach
be deriv"dfromrhe adiacenlleelh.I havelhere{ore
with the samenumber
numberedthe oral acupoints
lhe
as the correspondinBtcelh raccordingto
'oral
.
O
lor
with an additional
rontinenlalsystem,,
jaw
should
Thus, the oral points of the right upper
ri7ure 1. Pointsin the buccalsulcus
be labelledO 111oO IB,theleftupperjawO2l to
O 2B, the left lower jaw O 3/ to O 38, and the riSht
points,inspectionof the Singivaand, in particular, loweriaw O 4l to O 48lFiSure2).
O 21/22 O J1/32
dieilal pdipalion of lhe ordl muco\a, mdv Eive The oral dcupoinlsO II/l2
geieral diagnostrrhinls as lo lhe innerorgan*and and O 11/42 are linked to the kidney and urinary
bladdermeridians,includingall the organsof the
theirfunctionalbalance.
circuit, the
A feature of Oral Acupuncture is that each oral uro-senital tract. In this functional
tus and adnexae,as well as the frontal
acupoint correspondsnot merely to a singleorgan, o,osiate,ut pharvnqeal
lonsrl:arealsoincluded
but lo a spe(ilic group of orSansThereare iive iinusesand
T h e o r a dl ( u p o i n t ; Ot 3 , 2 J , J l , a n d4 J a r e b e s i d e
dt five differenlaredsof
distinclqroupsrepiesented
are linked to the
the bucial iulcus rFlEureii. Ihese five diffPrenl the canine teeth. Theseacupoints
as they are liver and gall bladder meridians, and their
point areascan easilybe distinguished,
liver and gall
identical to the five groups of teeth: incisors, lherapeulici;dicalionsincludethe
of lhe spine,the hips and
canines,premolars,molarsand wisdomteeth The bladder,rertainsegments
by lrdditionrl knees, the eyes, the sphenoid sinuses and the
nro|',o,oi orqon.are thosedescribed
'Five tlementt Dalatine
tonsils.
in the so-crlled
ihinese med-icine
of spleenand stomach,and lunS
meridians
The
one
Yang,
law, in which pairsof orSans,one Yin and
during their
and their meridianswere coupled.Thus:the upper and large intestine,cross each other
In the
and lower incisor teeth are related to the bladder course over the face. As a consequence/
meridians are
and kidney meridians fPlafe 7); the canines are lower iaw the spleen and stomach
linked io points besidethe premolarteeth, O 34135
and O 44/45, and in the upperjaw to points next to
the molar teeth,O t6/17 and O 26/27. Simila y' the
lune and laree inleslinemeridiansare linked to
poiis by rhi premolarteelh in the upper idw:
O 14/15 and O 24/25 and the molar teeth in the
lowet iaw. O 36/37 and O 46/47. PointsrelatinSto
the stomachand spleen meridiansare suitable for
treatmentof maxillary sinusitisas well as stomach,
pancreasand spleendisorders.Pointscorrespbnding
aresuitable
io the lungand largeintestinemeridians
for bronchitisand sinusitis,especiallyethmoid
sinusitis,as well as Iung and larSe intestine
disorders.
The oral acupoints O 18, 28, 38, and 48 ate
actually areascomprisingtwo or three points each
Thev are linked to the heart and small intestine
of
includedisorders
Ptate 1. Onl acupoints O 11/42 of lower jaw,
and theirindications
meridians,
some
and elbows,and
the shoulders
the duodenum,

i_j

Acupuncturc in Medrcine

16

May 1995vol 13 No.l

Right
Upper iaw

teft
upperJaw

:"i ?.,",4

."'i

'::*

"'i:j

kui"

r3tr2r1

.;;-,:..

r\:11

::","

-C'o

::7"
Right

Lft
tower iaw

Figure2. Atgan rclationshipto aral ac]polnts.

problems.
neTvous
and psychological
The meridians of the triple energisef and
pericardium
do not seemto be projectedw'thin the
systemof oral acupoinlssituatedin the buccal
sulcus.However,behindthisarea,thereis evidence
of points reJated1(] these mefidians.The triple
pointsarefoundat the ascending
energiser
ramusof
the mandiblebelow the temporomandibularjoint

functional circuits of the body are represented

within the retromolarspace in additjonto triple
energiserand pericardiumpoints.Becauseof this
concentrationof points, the relromolar space is o{
pfe eminenttherapeutic
importance
{P/ate2).

Treatment
It seemsthat disordersand imbalances
of internal
(TMr.
organsand functionsare signalledsimultaneously
The area beyondthe wisdom teeth is of special both in the buccal sulcusand in the retromolar
importancein therapy.This afea, the retromolar pointsbut, because
of the greaterimportance
of the
space,is the distalextension
of the upperand lower retromolar
space,it is bestto treatthesepointsfirst.
jaws, where a set of irnaginary"9th teeth" could 6e Re-palpation
of previouslyirritablebuccal sulcus
located,and are in fact occasionally
foundas a rare poinlsservesasa proofof the success
of the treatment.
developmental
abnormality.
The retromolarpoints Electrical
detectionof acupointsis not practicable
are well suited for treatment of many different in the mouth due to the moistureof the mucous
disorders fFigure 3), e.g. headache, migraine, membrane.However,digital palpationis usualiy
shoulder, elbow, cervical and lumbar spine reasonably straightforward and is effective at
complaints,functionaldisordersof the uro-genital localisingthe points.Increased
snsitivity
may give
systemetc. Painand spasmof the TMJanctrnusctes diagnostichints about the functionalstateot the
of rnastication,even if causedby emotional stress, respective
organsrelatedto the particularpoint and
can be relievedby treatingpointsof the upperand oral palpationcan also be used for checkingthe
lowerretromolar
space.
resultsof body acupuncture
or of aclpunctureto
Pointswithin this spaceare crowdedtogether,so othermicrosystemsIn rnanycasesthe sensitivjty
ol
distin:luishingbetween them presents some specilic oral points is extinguishedinstantly
difficulty.lt is thereforeimpossibleto differentiate when corresponding
pointsof other microsystems,
their respectivecorrespondences
clearly.All five e.8. auriculat are treated successfully.This
May 1995 Vol 13 No.l

17

Acupuncturcin Medicitle

are in common use by dentistsand are nearly

painless.ln practiceluse 279 disposableneedles
rightly s(rewed on. or frrn'lv dlrd(hcd. Io lhe
disposable syringe so that a needle can never
becomeloosewithinthe oralcavity.

[,laxillary

,.

-.\

- -:\

The poin\ are sensitive ta prcssurc in sinus infection, hyper

tensive hudache and indiSestion. Ihey are alsa ofdiagnostic
and thenpeutic benefit in shouldet, arm and elbow
conplaints. ce icnl syndrome, veltieo, lymphatic conplaints
and nigraine headaches.Next to the wisdom tooth arca,
points are related to functians of the heart ancl snall intestine
lpsycholaBical imbalance and stress).
Euccally: the points can be used to .reat lunbaqo, spinal
t.oubles, sciatica, functi.,nal indiSestion and hotnonal
nalfunction (point on frantal edse of ascendlnSnandible).
Lingually: the paints can be used ta teat ceNicat syndronel
vertilo, nisaine, hearinq difficuki5 and lunclional disodes
of kidneyand bladder
Figurc 3. The rctomolar points.

Point deteciion
The successof therapy dependson hitiing the
correct point exactly.lf this can be done, the
and desensitised
irritationof the point is neutralised
irnmediately,l.e. the point can no longer be
identifiedwhen palpated.This effectis not due to
any local anaestheticused, as it is similarly
achievedby otherinjectionfluids.The preciseidentification of the "very point" is what matters.Once
reactivepoinisare neutralised,
there
the specifically
is usuallya beneficialeffecton the originalinternal
functionaldisofder.
ldentificationol the "very point" is best achieved
areawith
by firstgentlydabbingalongthe suspected
the iniectionneedlef2).The needleshouldthen be
as shallowlyas possible.The
insertedtan8entially,
free fingersshould be restedon the adjacenttissue,
hand.When
servingas a supportfor the physician's
the 'rery pont is ql'u(k lhe pdlienle\pe ience5a
slight "electrical" sensationwhich, although it is
hasthe sameimpoftance
triggered
only superficially,
as the "sensatioralong the channel",the De Qi, of
classical acupuncture, and patients almost
to findinSthis "vefy
invariablygive someresponse
point", olren a gasp,flinch or widening of the eyes.
This superficialsensationindicatesthai the oral
acupointhasbeen struckprecisely.Very often at this
moment,the injection needle seemslo be "drawn"
channel.
intothe pointas if into a pre-formed
to
of
the
injectionfluid
lmmediately0.1
0.2m1
forming
a tiny
should be injected superficially,
Now
a
felt
wiih
the
finger
tip.
bubblewhich can be
gentlemassageof the bubblewill intensifythe effect
and at the sametime allow a checkas to whether
the irritabilityof the po'nt has been desensitised.
lf not, this means that the "very polrt" has been
nanowlymissed.Needleinseftionshouldtherefore
be repeatedclose by. This is not painful for the

"extinguishingeffect" is a phenomenontypical of
in general.
microsystem
acupuncture
Digital palpation in the buccal sulcus and
retromolarspace aims at identifying irriiated points
and comparing the degree of irritation in points
and in the
relatedto the samemeridianbilaterally,
upperand lowerjaws.
It is impracticableto use acupunctureneedles
within the mouth. For therapeutic purposes,
therefore,the oral acupointsshouldbe stimulated
ln general,the
by meansof superficialinl'ections.
useof normalsalinesolution,or of low percentage
(1% or less),is recommended.
local anaesthetics
dilutionsmay
Homoeopathic
or otherphysiological
functional
on
the
basic
injected,
depending
be
agents Plate2. Retronolarspaceand orcl acupointo l8 af upperjaw,
but
vasoconstricting
involved,
disorder
should be avoided.Very fine hypodermicneedles buccally from the wisdom tooth.
in Medicine
Acupuncture

May 1995 vol 13 No.l

patientas the localanaesthetic

hasalreadynumbed
the surroundingareawithout havingany effecton
the desiredpoint if this had been missed.I have
observedno undesiredside-effectsover 25 yeafs,
experience
of practicaloral acupuncture,
provided
therehas been no allergyto local anaesthetic.
Any
changesfor the worse were mereJytemporaryand
they always stinrulatedthe body's selfregulating
mechanism.

Oral Acupunctureoffersa link betweentraditional

acupuncture and the modern concept of
acupunctoremicrosystems,
since the holographic
projectionof the whole body into the mouth can
none the lessbe seen in terms of the traditional
meridiansystem.
Dr med lochen M Gleditsch
Hermann-RothStrasse12
D-82065 Baiefutunn,Cennany

Diseasetherapy
Oral Acupuncturemay be combinedwith other
for'n.o13, gpLln,111c'
oodr or anothermir ro,)\lpm.
In this respect,it is comparable
to ear acupuncture.
Paincondjtionsas well as stiffness
of all partsof the l . C e d i t s c h j M ( 1 9 7 9 ) i,lundakuplnkrlf. WBVVerlaE,
spine and joints improveconsiderably.
For some 2 . C l e d i l s c h
l M ( 1 9 9 5 ) A needle based poirn detecrion
reason, however/ there are patients who respond
technique used on lhe hand. Acupurcture in Medicinc.
betterto oral acupuncture,
othersto auriculotherapy | 3 1 1 ) : 2 0
and othersto traditionalacupunctufe,but in the
case of shouJder,
arm and elbow disorders,oral
acupuncture has proved superior. Fof these World Natural MedicineFoundation
disorders, points by the wisdom teeth and
3rd World Congress of Medical
retTomolarspacesof the upperjaw are indicatedfor
Acupuncture
and Natural Medicine
tfeatment.Disordersof the cervical and lumbar
"lntegrated
spine can be treated by wisdom tooth and
ComplementaryMedicine for All
retromolarpointsof the lower jaw, both buccaily in the 2l st Century"
and linSually;with the 9th tooth area linguallyfor
the ileo sacraljoint. Kneeand hip complaintsare
besttreatedby the lower canine points labiodenIaIy,

For sinusitis,oral acupunctureis effectivein

providinScompleteand permanentcures.Acute,
chronic,and allergicsinusitis,
rhjniiisand bronchitis
canall be treatedusingthe upperwisdomtoothand
retromolarspace points. I have found that a pain
.pn\ilt\tn oi thF rer(l\e poin,\ oi the upperjdlr
retromolarspaceis a key symptomin any form of
sinusitis.
The sensiiivityusuallypersists
even when
the commonsinusitis
symptomshavebeensuccess
fuJlycombatedby antibioticsor chemotherapy;
the
persisting
sensitivity
hintsto the factthatthe sinusitis
hasonly beensuppressed
and thatrelapses
areto be
expected. It however, by means ot oral
acupunctufe/
the retromolarpointsare treateduntil
theyare desensitised,
this indjcates
thatthe sinusitis
has been completely cured and relapsesare very
rare.lt wilj be found that with the sametfeatment
not onJy sinusitis,but also digestivedisorders,
especially
ofthe larSeintestine,
can improve.

Edmonton,Alberta, Canada
August 8th to 12th 1995
Thiscongress
will covera wide rangeo{ topicsretated
to traditional
Chinese
medicine,
but with a particutar
slanttowardstheintegrationoJ TCMand western
biomedicinewithin the contextof a morecomoassionate,naturalapproachto primaryheatthcare.
Dr StevenAung,linicalassktantprofessorand director
of medicalacupuncture
and orientalmedicine.
UniveAity
of Alberra,isorqanising
thisprestrgioJs
conJerence
besidethe NorthSaskatchewan
river,at the
Edmonton
Conventror
Cenrre.
A((ommodation
is
availableat a varietyof hotelsand may be arrangedby
the conferencesecretariat,

Conclusion
Oral Acupuncturecan be performedvery quickly
and easily, and I have now treated thousandsof
Therewill be pre and postcongress
workshopsdeating
with a selectionof irnportanttopicsin depth.Also
patientswith this techniquein my ear, nose and
throatclinic overthe past25 years,with sufficiently there is a ch6nceto visitthe famouscanadianRocky
Mountainson one of the pre or postcongress
tou|s.
good resultsto have adopted this method for the
The
sceneryis breathtakingand certaintynot to be
majorityof my patients.
By neitheradvertising
that I
am an acupunctufist,nor informingmy patients
aboutthe natureof theirtreatment,
I haveachieved Fulldetailscanbe obtainedfrom: Dr Steven
Auns
my results without in{luencing patients by
9904 106stteet,Ednanton,Alberta,CanadaT5K1c4
suggestionTel:(403)424.2231.Fax:(403)424.852A

May 1995 Val 13 No.1

19

Ac up u ncture i n Medici ne