Effect of localized pressure under an experimental acrylic plate covering the palatal mucosa on the concentration of salivary cortisol and salivary α-amylase activity

Abstract

We investigated the relationship of stress with pain and discomfort from a localized pressure plate under an experimental acrylic plate covering the palatal mucosa. The fully dentate subjects were 6 males and 7 females with an average age of 26±2 years. All of them filled out the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The tests were performed with the subjects seated upright in a dental chair. Each subject was subjected to three experimental conditions for 20 minutes each: no experimental plate (N), wearing the experimental plate (D), and wearing the experimental plate with a localized pressure plate (DP). The subjects then recorded their experience of pain and discomfort on a visual analog scale (VAS) and by STAI. Saliva was collected 3 minutes and 20 minutes after the start of each test. Salivary samples were immediately frozen at -50℃ for storage prior to assay, and the cortisol concentration and α-amylase activity were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and a kinetic measurement kit. The levels of each condition were performed with SPSS ver. 14.0J analytical software for repeated measures. A probability of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The concentrations of free salivary cortisol and salivary α-amylase activity were significantly greater with DP than with N or D (p<0.01). The results showed that the stress of pain and discomfort from the experimental plate with the localized pressure plate increased the salivary cortisol concentration and α-amylase activity. These results suggest that the pain and discomfort from an ill-fitting denture can be the source of stress.