Find yourself getting a little too fight or flighty when you get too near a dental chair? Nothing that a couple of needles in the noggin can’t cure.

A new study out of England and Denmark finds that needles stuck in two strategic spots on the head can help to reduce the anxiety that some feel in the presence of dental tools.

In a study published in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine, acupuncture treatment was performed in 16 women and four men from eight dental practices. Each of the patients had been rated as moderately or extremely anxious based on a questionnaire scale called the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).

The BAI scores of the individuals were assessed before and five minutes after acupuncture treatment involving two specific points on the top of the head.

Dentists trained in the use of acupuncture carried out the experiments, and average BAI scores fell to 11.5 from 26.5. The acupuncture treatments worked so well that all 20 people managed to have their dental procedures carried out.

Source: WebMD

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