The February Journal of the California Dental Association explores salivary diagnostics, taking a significant posture in dentistry based on its recent advancements in the basic, translational, and clinical sciences, the California Dental Association (CDA) announced.
Guest editor David T. Wong, DMD, DMSc -- one of the investigators at the forefront of salivary diagnostics -- assembled an array of authors with extensive knowledge of the topic for the issue, the association noted.
"Commercial Saliva Collections Tools" focuses on tools that are commercially viable or can play a role in whole saliva collection and future testing for critical diseases. A number of new tools have been developed to increase the use of oral specimens for diagnostic purposes and potential screening applications, according to Kerry Carney, DDS, the journal's editor-in-chief.
In "Salivary Biomarkers for Caries Risk Assessment," the authors review the research topics that connect dental caries with saliva, including both the microbial and host components within saliva.
And "Salivary Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Periodontal Diseases" explores saliva's recent emergence as a potential tool to aid in the diagnosis of periodontal diseases and prediction of treatment outcomes.
The article "Is Dentistry Going to Get into the Salivary Diagnostics Game or Watch From the Sidelines?" aims to elucidate the potential of salivary diagnostics for the dental profession and the patients treated. The author explores the importance of dentistry becoming part of the medical diagnosis team and how the opportunity to diagnose, monitor, and screen for oral and systemic diseases via a droplet of saliva would positively impact patients and the profession.
