Diagnostic Saliva

Image found here, which is a fascinating comparison of saliva beading to inkjet printing. 

Thanks to Annie for sending me a link to this story found here:

"In a special supplement to the Journal of the American Dental Association, Dr. David Wong, the associate dean of research at the UCLA School of Dentistry, details the latest progress in the field of 'salivaomics' — the study of the genes, proteins, DNA and RNA contained in saliva — and how dentists may be able to use salivaomics to not only diagnose diseases in their early stages, but also monitor the progress of treatment and predict the possibility of recurrence..." Continue reading here. 

Interesting. Using saliva constituents to diagnose not only oral/salivary gland problems, but to potentially also diagnose and monitor other body-wide significant diseases? Brilliant.

You can read Dr. Wong's full paper entitled Salivaomics and published in the October 2012 issue of JADA here.

Dr. Wong has also written an excellent article on the same topic which appeared in Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, here.

"Imagine the benefits of being able to monitor health status, disease onset and progression, and treatment outcomes through noninvasive means. Salivary diagnostics could turn this possibility into a reality. A national initiative promoted by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has created a roadmap to turn saliva diagnostics into a clinical reality. Oral fluid is a perfect medium in the exploration of health and in disease surveillance. The clinical applications and opportunities are enormous."