Sir, I am concerned about the 27 March 2020 letter to the editor1 promoting the use of acupuncture for gag reflex and many other conditions. Cochrane reviews have failed to find convincing evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of any medical condition. The qi and meridians underlying acupuncture have never been found anatomically, nor are they ever likely to be, nor has any plausible causal mechanism been accepted. Of the thousands of medical and dental pathologies, the only conditions for which some trials have found acupuncture beneficial are those with subjective, anecdotal outcomes, ie those particularly susceptible to the placebo effect. This is unlikely to be a coincidence. A placebo effect can still be useful in some circumstances, but our patients deserve care based on high-quality research evidence, not a traditional health system that also promotes the use of rhino horns, tiger penises and shark fins as medicines.
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Kapadia S. Acupuncture in dentistry. Br Dent J 2020; 228: 396.
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Foley, M. No convincing evidence. Br Dent J 229, 72 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-020-1939-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-020-1939-2
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