Page 17 - MDJ Volume 47 Number 2 ( Jul-Dec 2024)

Erdemir, et al.: The effect of local anaesthesia on dental anxiety and salivary cortisol levels

Figure 1: Flow chart of the study

dental injections, they were asked to rate their anxiety Statistical analysis
level on a 5-point scale in an MDAS questionnaire. The Statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical
answers ranged from not anxious (score 1) to extremely Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 21.0
anxious (score 5). (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The results were primarily
analysed using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for normal
An unstimulated saliva sample was taken to determine distribution of data. Since the data were non-normally
salivary cortisol levels. Each patient was asked to distributed, a Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare
place an absorbent cotton roll in the mouth for at least the MDAS and salivary cortisol levels of men and women.
3 min until it was soaked with saliva. All collected Spearman’s rank correlation test analysed the correlations
cotton rolls were carefully examined for possible between age, MDAS and salivary cortisol levels within the
blood contamination, and samples that showed a female and male groups at P < 0.05.
clear consistency were immediately transferred to a
5-mL plastic tube. The samples were stored at 4°C and
centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 2 min on the same day. The results
saliva samples were aliquoted and stored at −20°C until A total of 111 patients were initially included in this
the day of measurement. After thawing, the samples study. Due to insufficient saliva samples (n = 2 female, n =
were centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 min. The test was 8 male) and the detection of contaminated blood in saliva
performed according to the instructions of the salivary (n = 6 male), 16 patients were excluded from the study.
cortisol enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Figure 1 shows the flow chart of the study. Of the 95
laboratory kit (DRG International Inc., Springfield, patients who met the inclusion criteria and participated in
NJ, USA; catalog number SLV-2930). Samples were the study, 53 were female, with a mean age of 30.68 ± 8.06
measured at 450 nm using an absorbance microplate years (range = 16–45 years), and 42 patients were male,
reader (ELx800, BioTek Instruments, Inc., Winooski, with a mean age of 29.62 ± 7.32 years (range = 16–43
VT, USA). The results were automatically calculated years). Table 1 summarises the demographic data of the
using a logistic curve fit with four parameters. included patients. Table 2 summarises the comparisons

Malaysian Dental Journal ¦ Volume 47 ¦ Issue 2 ¦ July-December 2024 11