Salivary Diagnostics

Saliva’s role in diagnosis

The study of saliva as a medium for evaluating what is happening in the human body has been aroung for centuries. The early work in the field was related to the role saliva plays in the health of the mouth. Now researchers are looking at the physiology and biochemistry of saliva as a universal indicator of health or disease throughout the body. The protein values of saliva are similar to that of blood and much easier to obtain. Saliva can be easily obtained as a diagnostic tool by dentists, physicians, or even the patients themselves. No pain or invasive procedures would be required, the cost would be much lower, quantities are easy to obtain, there are no clotting factors, and saliva is easy to store and ship.

In the next Blog, I will review some of the potential uses for saliva in eary detection, screening, and monitoring of disease.