Saliva- A Diagnostic Tool

Saliva as a diagnostic fluid offers distinctive advantages over serum because it can be collected noninvasively by individuals with modest training. Furthermore, saliva may provide a cost-effective approach for the screening of large populations. Whole saliva may be used for diagnosis of systemic diseases, because it contains serum constituents. This review explains the diagnostic application of saliva for hereditary disorders, autoimmune diseases, malignant and infectious diseases, and endocrine disorders, as well as in the assessment of therapeutic levels of drugs and the monitoring of illicit drug use, and also for forensic evidence and others. In future we are likely to see the increased utilization of saliva as a diagnostic fluid. As we enter the era of genomic medicine, sialochemistry will play an increasingly important role in the early detection, the monitoring and progression of the systemic and oral diseases.