Saliva test identifies serious health conditions years before symptoms emerge

A revolutionary saliva test could help identify a range of serious health conditions years before symptoms emerge.

The simple swab process can spot harmful enzymes that maybe the pre-cursor to issues from serious gum disease to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The test, which costs from £50, could provide a vital early warning that could allow medics to start treatments with patients to modify their lifestyles before conditions can develop and cause serious damage.

The test provides a traffic light indication of gum disease within ten minutes. Current dental examinations mainly only detect previous damage and have limited ability to predict disease activity and progression.

“The test acts as a revelational alarm system for the nation’s health,” said leading Harley Street dentist Dr Fazeela Khan-Osborn, who is introducing the Periosafe test as part of routine consultations.

“Our mouths have millions of bugs and many pose a considerable risk to both oral health and other conditions such as CVD and diabetes so this gives us a vital new tool to help diagnose any issues and allow patients to receive the right treatment. This test establishes issues at an early stage rather than playing catch up.”

The saliva test, which gives patients a traffic light grading of their oral health will enable them to better understand their risks for dental disease and improve their dental hygiene and general health.

Gum disease is a major drain on the NHS and research has shown that it can be marker for other serious health conditions that create personal misery and add to the economic burden. Arresting new cases of gum disease would save the NHS £5.5 billion over ten years according to a report from The Economist Intelligence Unit. 1

Dr Fazeela Khan-Osborne believes the test could have a dramatic impact on gum health and ultimately help save lives.

She said:“ When it comes to gum disease it is a battle between host and bugs. Our mouth has millions of bugs but only some of them pose a risk because they are higher in numbers than they should be.

” Identifying these bacterial groups allows us to grade patients with these risk factors

“If this risk factor is high, it allows dentists like me to conduct are more in-depth examination and create a tailored plan for my patients as well as referring to other health professionals.

“Going to the hygienist, using an electric toothbrush, and using a fluoride toothpaste are just some of the ways patients can physically help to reduce the population of the dangerous bugs and improve their chances against gum disease.

“Your mouth is a marker and acts as a window to the rest of your general health it can show deficiencies and signal to your dentist that there could be a problem elsewhere in the body.

“Dental check-ups are just as important as a check-up with your GP.”

Dr Fazeela Khan-Osborne is a world leading implant and restorative surgeon based in London. With more than 30 years of experience Dr. Khan-Osborne has established herself as a leader in the field of implant and restorative dentist.

She is highly regarded for her contributions to dental education and training. Dr Khan-Osborne serves as the lead tutor for the Implant Diploma course at the Royal College of Surgeons and lectures on implant dentistry worldwide.

Her dental hygienist and therapist, Linzy Baker, has seen great results since implementing the test late last year. She said: “The test very much encourages people to stick to their 6 monthly appointments.

“It can act as a wakeup call, if someone is in amber it likely gives them that push to get down to green

“The nation loves to use metrics and have something tangible to measure their health, the saliva test provides them with a health challenge they can look to beat by their next appointment.”