An Investigation into the Use of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Orofacial Disorders

While on student elective from the Dental School of Bristol University, the authors had the chance to study the basic principles of traditional Chinese medicine and to observe the treatment of orofacial disease in a modern general hospital in Shanghai and in a specialist stomatological hospital at Beijing Medical University. The background to traditional herbal medicine and various forms of acupuncture encountered during their visit is discussed, as are some case histories. They report that clinical experience in China suggests that the combination of traditional Chinese and Western treatment techniques offers better results than either method alone.