Salivary Alpha Amylase as a Noninvasive Biomarker for Dental Fear and Its Correlation with Behavior of Children during Dental Treatment

Abstract

Objective: Objectives of our studies were to predict dental fear in a child patient depending on salivary alpha amylase (sAA) level before and after dental treatment and to evaluate correla­tion of later with behavior of child patient during dental treatment.Materials and methods: Seventy-seven children between age of 5 and 12 years were divided in three groups. Group 1 consisted of 25 school children who did not undergo any dental treatment. Groups 2 and 3 underwent dental treatment without and with local anesthesia respectively. Groups 2 and 3 were administered child fear survey schedule-dental subscale (CFSS-DS) questionnaire before treatment. Salivary samples were collected for sAA estimation in groups 2 and 3 children before and after completion of dental treatment and behavior during treatment was noted using Frankel behavior rating scale. Group 1 acted as control in which salivary sample was collected in absence of dental stress.Results: When groups 2 and 3 were combined, pretreatment sAA level had a statistically significant (p = 0.0094) correlation with CFSS-DS scores.Conclusion: Alpha amylase can be used as a screening tool to predict level of dental fear in a child patient.How to cite this article: Noorani H, Joshi HV, Shivaprakash PK. Salivary Alpha Amylase as a Noninvasive Biomarker for Dental Fear and Its Correlation with Behavior of Children during Dental Treatment. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2014;7(1):19-23.

Evaluation of Salivary Alpha Amylase as a Biomarker for Dental Anxiety

“…Noorani et al observed no differences in SAA activity in 5 to 12 year old children in both genders (11). Nonetheless, in a research using a corneal transplant surgery video as stressful stimuli, the researchers obtained a more increase in SAA level in younger men (12).…”

“…However, positive relationship between them and the dental anxiety remains unclear. Salivary alpha amylase (SAA) was considered as a suitable biomarker of sympathetic nervous system activity in recent years (11).…”

Correlation Between Salivary Anxiety Markers and Salivary Biochemical Markers in Children with Primary and Mixed Dentition

“…The role of salivary α-amylase in stress was investigated, and it was demonstrated that stress causes a significant increase in salivary α-amylase levels (24). Dental treatment itself can induce anxiety and fear in children, and these emotions cause significantly increased levels of salivary α-amylase immediately after dental treatment (25). Also salivary α-amylase was suggested as a marker of the autonomic nervous system response to stress in youth and adults (26).…”

Correlation Between Anxiety in Mothers and Children With Sensory Impairments Before Dental Treatment

“…Activation of the autonomic nervous system has a strong influence over the salivary glands and controls the secretion of sAA [7]. It is considered a reliable biomarker of stress and is preferred as a noninvasive procedure among several other methods because it does not cause distress to the subject [2,[7][8][9]. The activity of sAA is reported to increase during distress and decrease during comfort [10].…”