Editorial: Use of Saliva in Diagnosis of Periodontitis: Cumulative Use of Bacterial and Host-Derived Biomarkers

Oral cavity is the gate of the gastrointestinal tract, where the digestion process begins. Due to a wide range of nutritional intake, the oral cavity is constantly prone to physical and chemical stress. Mouth with its different types of surfaces and a warm and humid atmosphere offers a comfortable environment for a myriad of microbes to survive and replicate easily. Oral microbiota is an essential part of the host-tissue homeostasis; it contributes to the innate immune response and nitric oxide synthesis (Sintim and Gürsoy, 2016). However, bacterial colonization on non-shedding tooth surfaces allows the formation and maturation of biofilms where bacterial cells are well-protected from various host response activities. When pathogenic bacteria reside in these complex microbial communities, it may result in dysbiotic biofilms that get benefit from inflammation. Two widespread diseases of the oral cavity, connected to dysbiosis, are tooth decay and periodontitis. In periodontitis, a degradative process occurs in tooth-supporting tissues, i.e., gingiva, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone. The disease is initiated by bacteria; however, the main reason behind the tissue degradation is uncontrolled immune response. It often proceeds without any symptoms and, therefore, patients may seek professional help " at the point of no return " and experience loss of teeth. It is estimated that about 10–15% of the adult populations suffer from advanced periodontitis (Petersen and Ogawa, 2012). The prevalence and severity of periodontitis is increased in individuals with low socioeconomic status, tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, and certain systemic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus. According to the available data, the economic impact of dental diseases was 442 billion US$ worldwide in 2010 (Listl et al., 2015). Out of that sum, 298 billion US$ was the direct treatment costs, and 144 billion US$ was the indirect costs due to dental diseases (Petersen and Ogawa, 2012). On one hand, a dentist can readily detect periodontal disease with conventional methods using a periodontal probe and, in case of clinical signs of periodontitis, radiographs. On the other hand, this type of diagnostics is economically costly and time-consuming and even not feasible to perform in large-scale studies. To use resources in an economic way, a cost-effective method to identify people suffering from periodontal disease is warranted. Analysis of saliva for setting periodontal diagnosis is not a new idea. Information and experience on salivary diagnostics has improved tremendously during the past two decades. Saliva as a diagnostic tool offers several advantages; …