A Comprehensive Study on Salivary Biomarkers in Oral and Systemic Diseases: Biochemical Insights and Diagnostic Applications in Dental Practice
salivary biomarkers, oral diagnosis, preventive dentistry, prosthodontics, precision dentistry
AuthorsAbstractSalivary biomarkers have become an exciting non-invasive diagnostic method of monitoring and risk evaluation of oral diseases in modern dentistry. This review examines the biological basis of saliva, the major classes of salivary biomarkers, and their clinical relevance in caries, periodontal disease, peri-implant disorders, and oral potentially malignant and malignant lesions. The review also discusses the growing role of salivary analysis in restorative and prosthodontic treatment planning, where salivary composition influences material performance, tissue response, and long-term treatment outcomes. Recent advances in chairside diagnostic technologies, particularly biosensors and microfluidic platforms, have strengthened the clinical feasibility of saliva-based testing and supported its integration into precision dentistry. Despite these developments, significant barriers remain, including biological variability, lack of standardized collection and analytical protocols, and inconsistent diagnostic validation across studies. Current evidence suggests that salivary diagnostics is most effective when used as an adjunct to conventional clinical assessment rather than as a standalone diagnostic tool. With continued methodological refinement, multi-biomarker validation, and improved translational frameworks, salivary biomarkers may contribute substantially to earlier diagnosis, individualized prevention, and more biologically informed dental care. This review highlights the current scope, clinical relevance, and future direction of salivary biomarker research within restorative, prosthodontic, and broader oral healthcare practice. 1. Introduction Saliva has now become an extensively studied biofluid that has been used for diagnosis in dental medicine and has clinical relevance. Due to easy accessibility, minimal expertise needed for manipulation of specialized equipment and friendly interaction with the patient, it makes a possible alternative to established methods of diagnosis, including blood tests and tissue biopsies [1]. It offers a useful matrix that is capable of providing information about dynamic processes in the oral cavity that are important for the proper evaluation of patients' conditions, where quick diagnosis and cooperation from the patient are required. Increasing interest in diagnosing diseases at the early stages and minimizing risks for the patient due to less invasive approaches of analysis has resulted in the popularity of the salivary approach to diagnosis [2]. The reason for the diagnostic capacity of saliva is its complicated biochemical composition of saliva. It contains many organic and inorganic compounds, such as enzymes, immunoglobulins, antimicrobial peptides, nucleic acids and metabolites that provide information about healthy and diseased conditions [3]. The compounds of saliva can be acquired from several different sources, including salivary glands, gingival crevicular fluid, oral epithelial cells and oral microbiota. This etiology that is multifactorial •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ejprd.org- Published by Riset Publishing Services LLC.
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