Methods: Twenty-five children aged 6-11 years who were to undergo the extraction of a primary tooth at the Dental and Oral Educational Hospital, Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Indonesia, were enrolled in this study. From all children, saliva was collected using a disposable saliva strip shortly after local anesthetic injection, and the SAA activity was then determined using a portable Nipro Cocoro Meter device. The WBFPS was measured at the same time. The correlation between the WBFPS and the SAA level was analyzed using Spearman's correlation test. The statistically significant level was set at p≤0.05. Results:There was a significant correlation between the WBFPS and SAA level (p=0.002, r=0.581). Conclusion:Our data suggest that the SAA level might be a good index for objective pain intensity assessment.

Methods: Thirty-seven participants aged 6-11 years who were to undergo the extraction of primary teeth at the Dental and Oral Educational Hospital, Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Indonesia, were enrolled. The subjects were divided into two groups: One group consists of 20 children who had never undergone a tooth extraction, and the other group consists of 17 children who had undergone tooth extraction. From all children, one saliva sample was collected using a portable saliva strip 10 min before (t0), shortly after (t1), and 10 min after (t2) local anesthetic injection, and the SAA activity was determined using a portable Nipro Cocoro Meter device. The SAA levels of both groups were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test.Results: There were significant differences in SAA levels at t0 (p=0.001), t1 (p=0.018), and t2 (p=0.021) in both groups. Anxiety is a combination of behavioral and physiological reactions. SAA release is regulated by autonomic innervation, and the SAA level increases owing to acute stress. Conclusion:Dentists should note patients' negative dental experiences to provide more effective and less traumatic treatment.