This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Aguirre, A. Articles by Levine, M.J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Sialochemistry: A Diagnostic Tool?

Department of Oral Biology and Dental Research Institute, 109 Foster Hall, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214

L.A. Testa-Weintraub

Department of Oral Biology and Dental Research Institute, 109 Foster Hall, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214

J.A. Banderas

Department of Oral Biology and Dental Research Institute, 109 Foster Hall, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214

G.G. Haraszthy

Department of Oral Biology and Dental Research Institute, 109 Foster Hall, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214

M.S. Reddy

Department of Oral Biology and Dental Research Institute, 109 Foster Hall, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214

M.J. Levine

Department of Oral Biology and Dental Research Institute, 109 Foster Hall, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214

Saliva has proven to be a discriminating element in forensic arenas, an effective indicator of acute diseases of salivary glands, and a promising probe for drug monitoring. With the advent of sensitive immunochemical assays, the compositional profile of human salivary secretions has been expanded considerably. Thus, the establishment of a range of "normal values" for a variety of "intrinsic" and "extrinsic" salivary components represented the initial step to use saliva as a diagnostic tool of oral health status. Unfortunately, numerous cross-sectional studies have shown a wide individual variation in the salivary composition of healthy populations, thus precluding its use as a diagnostic chair-side test for the screening of the most common chronic oral diseases (e.g., caries and periodontal disease). A possible explanation may arise from the wide functional versatility of salivary molecules. For instance, it has been recognized recently that in addition to its digestive properties, salivary amylase may modulate bacterial colonization, whereas histatins are not only antifungal but also bactericidal. Thus, low levels of already known antimicrobial salivary molecules (e.g., secretory IgA, lactoferrin, and lysozyme) could be compensated with higher concentrations of other molecules with antimicrobial activity, such as amylase and histatins. Consequently, for caries and periodontal diseases, longitudinal sialochemical studies may yield more insight than cross-sectional studies.

Key Words: sialochemistry • saliva • caries • periodontal disease • forensics • drug monitoring • salivary mucins • salivary proline-rich proteins • saliva composition.

Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, Vol. 4, No. 3, 343-350 (1993)
DOI: 10.1177/10454411930040031201


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J.D. Rudney Saliva and Dental Plaque Advances in Dental Research, December 1, 2000; 14(1): 29 - 39. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H. Marcotte and M. C. Lavoie Oral Microbial Ecology and the Role of Salivary Immunoglobulin A Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., March 1, 1998; 62(1): 71 - 109. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Iontcheva, F.G. Oppenheim, and R.F. Troxler Human Salivary Mucin MG1 Selectively Forms Heterotypic Complexes with Amylase, Proline-rich Proteins, Statherin, and Histatins Journal of Dental Research, March 1, 1997; 76(3): 734 - 743. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J.D. Rudney, Z. Ji, and C.J. Larson Saliva Protein Binding to Streptococcal Layers Placed at Different Oral Sites in 48 Persons Journal of Dental Research, October 1, 1996; 75(10): 1789 - 1797. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J.D. Rudney Does Variability in Salivary Protein Concentrations Influence Oral Microbial Ecology and Oral Health? Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, January 1, 1995; 6(4): 343 - 367. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. A. Scannapieco Saliva-Bacterium Interactions in Oral Microbial Ecology Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, January 1, 1994; 5(3): 203 - 248. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]