A salivary collection method for young children

Salivary assays are a major physiological measure in studies of child development. Traditional collection techniques have generally involved children chewing on sterile dental cotton rolls. However, research suggests that, for an accurate assay, potential contaminants need to be minimized, both from oral stimulants and the collection device. Moreover, the use of cotton requires that additional saliva be collected to compensate for the amount absorbed by the cotton itself. For these reasons I adapted the passive drooling collection protocol for use with young children. To this end, a game was created which involves frog puppets constructed so that a funnel, which serves as the frog's mouth, connects to a cryogenic vial housed in the frog's body. Details on the specifics of this methodology as well as the effectiveness of this approach are discussed.