Salivary components provide the unique prophylactic, therapeutic and diagnostic
properties of saliva. It is well established that the composition of saliva reflects
the oral and general health status. Many of the compounds found in blood
could be also detected in saliva, thus saliva is functionally equivalent to serum in
reflecting the physiological state of the body, including emotional, hormonal, nutritional,
and metabolic variations. A large number of medically valuable analytes
in saliva are being gradually discovered and some of them represent biomarkers for
different diseases such as periodontal disease, oral cancer, breast cancer,
autoimmune diseases, viral and bacterial diseases, HIV, cardiovascular
diseases and diabetes mellitus