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## Meet the editor

Dr. Gokul Sridharan is an associate professor in the Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology at YMT Dental College and Hospital, Navi Mumbai. He obtained his PhD for his Thesis "Salivary and Serum Metabolomics in Oral Leukoplakia and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma." His fields of interest include oral pre-cancer, oral cancer, salivary diagnostics, oral and maxillofacial diseases, and advanced diagnostic aids with emphasis on bio-

informatics and metabolomics. He has several scientific publications and actively contributes as a peer reviewer to numerous journals. He is an active member of the editorial board of several journals of repute. Dr. Sridharan has undergone training and is a qualified diploma holder in medical law and ethics and is also certified in tobacco cessation and control.

Contents

*by Gokul Sridharan*

Functions of Saliva *by Narendra Maddu*

Salivary Diagnostics

Are We There Yet? *by Charles F. Streckfus*

*and Alexandra Enache*

*by Varsha Pathiyil and Rahul Udayasankar*

Salivary Diagnostics in Oral Diseases *by Manohar Bhat and Devikripa Bhat*

**Preface III**

**Chapter 1 1**

**Chapter 2 7**

**Chapter 3 21**

**Chapter 4 39**

**Chapter 5 59**

**Chapter 6 77**

Salivary Biomarkers to Assess Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Progression:

*by Raluca Dumache, Veronica Ciocan, Camelia Muresan, Ramona Parvanescu* 

Advantages of Salivary DNA in Human Identification

Introductory Chapter: Saliva - The Future of Disease Diagnostics

## Contents


Preface

The health care profession is a dynamic and constantly evolving field periodically encountering new diseases and challenges. The ever-changing facets of human diseases have posed numerous complexities to clinicians and researchers alike. The quest to constantly upgrade the knowledge in dealing with these challenges has resulted in discovery of newer technologies for use in disease diagnosis and

For decades, the use of blood was widely accepted and depended on for disease diagnosis and treatment formulation. With advancing technologies and understanding of the nature of other body fluids, saliva is rapidly gaining wide importance in diagnosis of not only oral and maxillofacial pathologies but also various systemic diseases. Saliva is a complex fluid containing both organic and inorganic constituents. The multifarious components within saliva not only protect the integrity of oral tissues, but also provide clues to various local and systemic

The easy and non-invasive method of saliva collection coupled with the

identification of many new salivary components has led researchers from many fields, including dentistry, to believe that saliva could be considered as an attractive

Salivary diagnostics has wide applications in the fields of oncology, microbiology, and autoimmunity as well as in various systemic disorders. The anatomical proximity of saliva to various oral lesions makes it an ideal tool for screening and diagnosis of these lesions. Additionally, since saliva is an ultrafiltrate of plasma, it can serve as a diagnostic tool for identifying biomarkers pertaining to various

The purpose of this project is to understand the physiology of saliva, the methods of saliva collection, and the various analytical methods available as well as emphasize saliva's utility as a dependable body fluid for detection and quantification of disease-

**Dr. Gokul Sridharan MDS, PhD, PGD (Medical Law and Ethics)**

Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology,

YMT Dental College and Hospital, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India

Associate Professor,

treatment.

conditions and diseases.

diagnostic tool.

systemic diseases.

specific biomarkers.
