Salivary biomarkers for periodontal disease diagnostics.

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD: Periodontal disease is one of the most prevalent of all diseases. The chronic inflammatory process causes tooth loss and is associated with negative systemic effects. There are still major challenges when it comes to precise diagnosis, prognosis and appropriate disease therapy. The rapidly emerging field of salivary diagnostics could help to overcome these problems. AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW: The article covers the last 20 years of periodontal disease biomarker research and gives an overview of the current status of salivary diagnostic techniques. WHAT THE READER WILL GAIN: The reader will gain insight into the periodontopathic process, associated biomarkers and biomarker detection techniques in the field of saliva-based molecular diagnostics. TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Salivary diagnostics has great potential for the detection of oral and systemic diseases. Periodontal disease diagnostics, therapy and prognosis could benefit from this emerging diagnostic field.