Effectiveness of salivary chromogranin A as a stress index in young children during dental treatment

It is important to understand the level of stress experienced by children during dental treatment, which can be stressful and even lead to permanent dental phobia. We investigated whether chromogranin A (CgA), a stress marker in adults, is useful for determining stress levels in children. Saliva samples were collected before and after treatment from 5 children (3-5 years) who required treatment more than 5 times in a relatively short period. Their parents completed a questionnaire about their child liking/disliking the clinic visit, how they explained to their children the purpose of the dental visit and the type of treatment sought, and to explain descriptively the difference they noticed in their child's behavior. The CgA levels were significantly higher before than after the treatment in all cases. Pre-treatment CgA values were not always related to dislike for the clinic visit, type of treatment sought, and behavioral reaction to the treatment. The CgA values may have been influenced by the children's previous experience of the treatment. The results suggest that CgA might be appropriate for verifying children's stress levels during dental treatment and stress tendency towards dental treatment.