Saliva appreciation
If a small finger cut draws a drop of blood, you notice. But you probably take your saliva for granted. “Other than baseball players we see spitting all over the dugout, most people swallow their saliva and don’t even think about it,” says Dr. Matthew Messina, an American Dental Association spokesperson. Yet, in some ways, “saliva is the mirror of the body,” says Messina, an assistant professor in the College of Dentistry at The Ohio State University. Saliva changes can point to oral and body-wide health problems. As saliva-based testing evolves, it can highlight your current health status, genetic disease risk and ancestry. See what your spit can reveal — all without needles.
Dry mouth
Fun fact: “We generally swallow about one-half gallon of spit a day,” Messina says. Spit fulfills important functions. “Saliva has buffers in it that neutralize acids, which reduces the risk of cavities and decay in the teeth,” he says. “It washes away bacteria and particles, so it helps prevent gum and periodontal disease.” Saliva also contains digestive enzymes. Many medications, including blood pressure, psychiatric and gastrointestinal drugs, can reduce saliva and cause dry mouth. Tweaking meds with your doctor can help. Sometimes, the fix is simple: “If you feel very dry, it’s a sign you need to rehydrate,” he says. “The American public is chronically dehydrated. So we all need to drink more water.”
Oral infections
Yeast infection of the mouth, called oral thrush, makes saliva turn white or cream-colored, and patchy. Thrush builds up on the tongue, inner cheeks, roof of the mouth, tonsils or gums and back of the throat. Caused by overgrowth of the fungus Candida albicans — which everybody has in normal amounts — oral thrush is more common in babies, older adults, people with weakened immune systems and those on certain medications. Excessive mouthwash use, diabetes, dentures and smoking also leave people more vulnerable to thrush.
Systemic conditions
A drop in production of normal amounts of saliva can be associated with aging and systemic diseases, Dr. William Giannobile, a professor and chair of the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, writes in an email. Sjogren’s syndrome is one culprit. In this autoimmune disorder, “the body attacks the salivary glands, destroying their saliva-producing functions,” says Giannobile, editor-in-chief for the Journal of Dental Research. Dry mouth is just one symptom of Sjogren’s syndrome. The condition affects about 4 million Americans and mostly women, according to the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation.
Diabetes
“Saliva is becoming an important body fluid that can be used to quickly identify diseases and genetic information from patients,” Giannobile says. Easier to collect than blood, saliva can provide point-of-care assessments for patients to do at home or clinicians to use in the office. Oral fluids contain many of the biochemical markers found in blood, albeit in lower concentrations, Messina says. As tests improve, clinicians can measure proteins, electrolytes, hormones and antibodies. Saliva tests can detect the body’s glucose levels. Diabetes and oral health are connected, Messina notes. Diabetes can reduce saliva and cause dry mouth, along with other signs to discuss with your dentist, including inflamed, bleeding or reddened gums.
Drug use
You already know if you’ve been using recreational drugs. Through saliva testing, for better or worse, employers can find out as well. Drug-testing with saliva can detect substances including cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines, ecstasy, PCP and opioid drugs. Saliva testing can also be used by clinicians to monitor many prescribed medications and ensure that drug levels in your body are therapeutic — not too high or low.
Genetic makeup
Dusting off old family trees to learn about your ancestry is so last decade. The ability to spit in a tube at home instead of providing a blood sample at a laboratory has opened the door to all sorts of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. It’s not just about knowing where you came from, but also finding clues about your health. Whether it’s learning their risk for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or a heredity clotting disorder, curious consumers are sending saliva samples to online companies like 23andMe that offer various levels of DNA testing. However, if a DNA test alerts a user to a possible medical condition, he or she should talk to a medical provider.
HIV status
Rapid oral HIV tests use saliva to quickly detect antibodies caused by a response to HIV infection. With self-test kits, users swab their mouths to collect a sample of oral fluid. Within 20 minutes or so, they have a result. Self-tests allow consumers to learn their HIV status anonymously and absorb this sensitive information in privacy. If the self-test result is positive, then follow-up blood testing will be needed to confirm the result and start treatment. Counseling and referral to a health care provider are part of the testing process.
Excess saliva
If you produce more saliva than most people, that’s usually no big deal. Some pregnant women may notice an increase in saliva. Known as “ptyalism gravidarum,” this hypersalivation is usually associated with nausea and vomiting during the first pregnancy trimester. It’s not certain whether more saliva is actually being produced or if it’s more difficult for pregnant women to swallow and get rid of it. Medical conditions that can cause excess saliva include gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD; pancreatitis and liver disease. Certain medications can also cause excess salivation.
On the horizon
It’s a misconception that saliva is not as valuable as measuring blood or urine for the evaluation of diseases, Giannobile says. For many diseases, he says, it’s being recognized as just as good, or better, than other, less accessible body fluids. Saliva tests still under development might someday detect oral cancer, periodontal disease and heart disease, he notes. It’s still in experimental stages, but it’s possible a spit test could predict whether a child’s concussion symptoms will resolve within a few days after the injury or continue for weeks, according to a study published online Nov. 20 in JAMA Pediatrics.
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9 Ways Saliva Reflects Your Health originally appeared on usnews.com
