Utility of salivary biomarker for stress induced by dental treatment

To appropriately and smoothly perform dental treatment, the objective evaluation of patients' stress during treatment is important, for which effective means and methods to measure stress-related markers in simply and noninvasively collectable saliva have been investigated. In this review, saliva was collected from pediatric patients before and after treatment, and sIgA, α-amylase, and cortisol were measured to evaluate the stress of dental treatment on them. On analysis of the duration and content of treatment in dental records, the sIgA level showed a clearer response to stress compared to α-amylase and cortisol. Measurement of changes in the salivary sIgA level may be a useful, noninvasive stress evaluation method, and sIgA may serve as a stress marker.