Salivary Diagnostics II

How saliva can be used in diagnosis

In the last Blog,  I discussed the the advantages to using saliva as a diagnostic tool. Research is ongoing but saliva is already used in tests for HIV. There is great promise for screening, early detection, and monitoring. Cassette technology shows promise in allowing a practitioner to have access to diagnostic results at the point of care. For dentists, determining patients that are at the highest risk of periodontal disease by analyzing their saliva would take preventive care to a whole new level. This could carry over to other systemic and caridovascular screenings. The key at this time will be for researchers to fully understand how a biomarker conveys to the oral cavity and is a credible and predictable indicator of diagnostic information. One resercher predicts saliva at the point of sample testing will replace blood drawn laboratory analysis within the next 5 years.