Salivary Investigations - The Art of Balance

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 and serve as a tearless diagnostic tool. For saliva to play a role as a diagnostic aid it is necessary to examine the consequences of preanalytical physiologic variations with respect to age .Thus the aim of this study was to detect the physiologic levels of different electrolytes, total proteins and amino acids with the use of newer biochemical methods like atomic absorption spectroscopy and Light chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy. Calcium, magnesium and silica levels showed a linear increase in concentration from primary to mixed to permanent dentition age groups. Salivary potassium concentration showed a significant increase in the mixed dentition age group. The amino acids isolated from the salivary samples did not show any specific trend depending on age. Establishment of amino acid sequences and not only individual amino acids is necessary to establish the genetic component of saliva along with our quest to establish saliva as a diagnostic fluid. With new and highly sensitive techniques, however, the lower level of analytes in saliva is no longer a limitation. Almost anything one can measure in blood, one can measure in saliva.