Oral acupuncture is a method of treating systemic diseases by needling acupoints on the oral mucosa. The organs are closely related to the mouth through the meridians: the Stomach Yangming meridian "encircles the lips," the Liver Jueyin meridian "encircles the lips internally," the Large Intestine Yangming meridian "passes through the mouth," the Gallbladder Yangming meridian "emerges from the mouth," the Gallbladder Yangming meridian divergence "emerges from the mouth," the Conception and Governor vessels "interconnect at the mouth." Therefore, diseases of the organs can be reflected through oral reactions. By needling specific acupoints on the oral mucosa, organ diseases as well as limb disorders can be treated.
[Operational methods]
1. Acupoint location
1. Upper limb region: located between the upper left canine tooth and the second molar and the oral vestibular mucosa.
- Upper arm acupoint: located on the oral mucosa between the upper left second canine tooth and the first molar.
- Forearm acupoint: located on the oral vestibular mucosa between the upper left canine tooth and the first premolar.
2. Lower limb region: located between the lower left incisor tooth and the third molar and the oral vestibular mucosa.
- Sciatic nerve acupoint: located on the mucosa below the gum between the lower left first molar and the second molar.
- Thigh acupoint: located on the oral vestibular mucosa below the gum between the lower left second canine tooth and the first molar.
- Knee joint acupoint: located on the oral vestibular mucosa below the gum between the lower left first and second incisors.
- Calf acupoint: located on the oral vestibular mucosa below the gum between the lower left canine tooth and the first premolar.
The acupoints in the above two regions are distributed symmetrically on both sides.
3. Nerve region: located on the oral vestibular mucosa above the gum between the upper central incisors.
4. Urinary zone: located on the inherent oral mucosa above the gum between the upper central incisors.
5. Digestive zone: located on the inherent oral mucosa below the gum between the lower left incisor.
6. Five Zang-organs zone: located on the inherent oral mucosa below the gum between the lower right incisor.
7. Eye and hypotensive zone: located on the oral vestibular mucosa above the gum between the upper left incisor.
8. Lumbar region: located on the oral vestibular mucosa above the gum between the upper right incisor.
9. Skin zone: located on the oral vestibular mucosa below the gum between the lower left first molar.
The acupoints in the above regions are the same on both sides.
2. Principles of acupoint selection
1. Select acupoints based on the corresponding area of the disease location, for example, for cough caused by lung qi deficiency, select the Five Zang-organs zone.
2. Select acupoints based on the affected area, such as selecting the lumbar zone for lumbar disease, the skin zone for skin diseases, the eye zone for eye disorders, and the head zone for head ailments.
3. Cross select acupoints: select the acupoint on the opposite side if the disease is on the left side, and vice versa.
3. Operation-
Disinfect thoroughly, use a sterile 30-gauge 1.7-5cm (0.5-1.5 inches) needle, have the patient sit upright, half-open their mouth, place sterile gauze on the patient's upper and lower lips, use fingers to open the lips up and down, insert the needle into the oral acupoint at a 15-30-degree angle. After obtaining qi sensation, leave the needle for about 30 minutes. When removing the needle, use one hand to hold the lips with gauze and the other hand to remove the needle to prevent pain and bleeding.
[Indications]
1. Stroke hemiplegia, sequelae of polio, sciatica
Use oral acupuncture. Select acupoints in the upper limb region, lower limb region, and sciatic nerve region. In addition to the above conditions, it can also treat shoulder and arm pain, forearm swelling and pain, cold and painful lower back and legs, knee joint pain, and calf muscle spasms.
2. Facial paralysis, trigeminal neuralgia, neurogenic headache, stiff neck
Use oral acupuncture. Select acupoints in the nerve region and head region.
3. Acute lumbar sprain, lumbar muscle strain
Use oral acupuncture. Select acupoints in the lumbar region.
[Precautions]
1. Strict disinfection to prevent oral infections.
2. Accurate acupoint selection and gentle needling to prevent bleeding.
