ADA Summit Eyes Saliva Testing for Caries, Perio and Systemic Risk

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Posted: July 21, 2026

ADA Summit Eyes Saliva Testing for Caries, Perio and Systemic Risk

Edited by Hygienetown staff

Saliva-based testing could give hygienists and dentists a new tool for caries, periodontal, and systemic risk assessment, but the science needs validation before routine use, participants concluded at an American Dental Association summit reported July 20.

The ADA Salivary Diagnostics Summit, held June 18 in Chicago, drew participants from dentistry, medicine, research, diagnostics, technology, investment, and insurance. Across presentations and group discussions, the central question shifted from whether saliva holds diagnostic potential to how the profession can build the standards, workflows, evidence-based guidance, and regulatory pathways needed to use salivary testing consistently.

Potential applications discussed included periodontal disease, caries, xerostomia, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Keynote speaker Débora Heller, immediate past president of the Salivary Research Group at the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research, said the field has reached an inflection point where technology has caught up with the underlying biology. “The science is here,” she said, urging the group to move it from evidence to implementation.

Heller described saliva as a protective factor in the mouth, supporting lubrication, acid neutralization, remineralization, and the oral microbiome, and said it can reflect broader health in real time. She noted that more than 42% of medications list dry mouth as a side effect and argued that without a salivary baseline, dentists remain in a reactive posture, waiting for symptoms to appear.

Maria Ryan, vice president and chief dental officer at Colgate, said saliva-based tools could help dentistry participate more fully in precision medicine by adding objective biochemical data to clinical exams, supporting risk assessment, patient education, and treatment monitoring.

Participants closed with broad agreement that salivary diagnostics show significant promise but that the profession must first define clear use cases, validate tests, establish reference ranges and clinical action pathways, and educate both dentists and patients before wide adoption.

Sources:
ADA News, “ADA summit examines future role of salivary biomarkers in dentistry,” July 20, 2026: adanews.ada.org/ada-summit-salivary-biomarkers

ADA Summit Eyes Saliva Testing for Caries, Perio and Systemic Risk

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