A systematic review of saliva on its diagnostic utility

Abstract

Introduction: A paradigm shift in recent years has led to the consideration of the oral cavity (and, thus, oral disease) not in isolation but as a component integrated with systemic physiology, important in maintaining systemic health and reflective of systemic disease. Saliva has been studied extensively as a potential diagnostic tool over the last decade due to its ease and noninvasive accessibility along with its abundance of biomarkers. Aim and Objective: This is a systematic review of the studies published in past 15 years in electronic databases regarding the utility of saliva as a diagnostic tool. A scrutiny of abundantly studied diagnostic areas using saliva, the analytes of significance, and methodologies was performed. Materials and Methods: Data collected from electronic databases, followed by data extraction and management. Results and Conclusion: Eighty-five studies considered among 510 studies represent the evolution of saliva in screening neoplasms, with 34 different analytes detected in this population followed by 22 in metabolic disorders, and the least being in systemic disorders. The most abundantly applied technique is enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the common analyte being immunoglobulins. The application of high-throughput proteomic techniques in various studies in the past decade has led to the discovery of new biomarkers.