title: Assessment of the changes in the stress-related salivary cortisol levels to the various dental procedures in children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fear and pain are the factors producing stress and there is evidence that dental fear acquired in childhood may persist to influence adult behavior. Dental treatment is often considered as anxiety producing and stressful.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the levels of stress displayed by the healthy children undergoing routine dental procedures like oral examination, restoration, and extraction by analyzing salivary levels of cortisol before, during, and after the procedures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty healthy children aged between 4 and 8 years having their first dental visit and requiring at least one restoration and one extraction were selected. In each patient, three procedures were carried out: (i) Routine dental examination, (ii) restoration, and (iii) extraction. Unstimulated salivary samples were collected 10 min before, during the procedure, and 30 min after each procedure at three different visits for comparison of cortisol production in response to anxiety and stress over time. Total 180 samples were collected to determine salivary cortisol levels using UBI-MAGIWEL TM kit and the readings were noted.
  
  
  METHODS
  Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software with paired t-test, two independent sample t-tests, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A correlation between salivary cortisol and stress in dental procedure was noticed. Cavity preparation is more stressful procedure in children, so alternative methods can be used in anxious children. Stress associated with extraction persists to a postoperative period. No correlation exists in between Corah's anxiety scale and salivary cortisol.
authors: Sharmila J
authors: SJ
authors: Patil
authors: Preetam P
authors: PP
authors: Shah
authors: Jayakumar A
authors: JA
authors: Patil
authors: Anand
authors: A
authors: Shigli
authors: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University Dental College and Hospital, Sangli, Maharashtra, India.
authors: Anil T
authors: AT
authors: Patil
authors: Sridevi B
authors: SB
authors: Tamagond
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone