SALIVA ANALYSIS: THE NEW PATIENT ENGAGEMENT TOOL

Empowering patients to engage in their oral healthcare can be a constant challenge for dental professionals. Some patients are fearful of procedures, some want you to make all the decisions, and some just want to get in and out, and not come back. Or, if insurance doesn’t cover it, they are not interested to learn how it may help them.

Saliva analysis screening technology can provide information you did not have previously and can amp up your conversation to deliver oral health and hygiene education with visual, objective measurements. It may just keep your patients coming back for more.

WHAT DOES CHAIR-SIDE SALIVA SCREENING LOOK LIKE TODAY?
A few tests available can identify specific pathogens that cause disease, are considered diagnostic and are more expensive to administer as you have to send the sample out to a lab for analysis.[i] Saliva screening tools differ in that they are quick and easy to use and typically cost much less to implement. One saliva analysis system uses dual-wavelength reflectance spectrometry to measure key saliva biomarkers through a chemical reaction on the test pad which eliminates culturing of bacteria for days to get numbers or sending samples off to a lab. Other saliva tests measure the pH of saliva to determine if the oral cavity is acidic,[ii] or salivary flow to determine hyposalivation.[iii] Saliva screening test results are tools that can be used to complement a clinical assessment of your patient to provide more information to support suggesting new oral hygiene habits, products, or treatments.