Saliva: The New Gateway

Dr. David Wong spoke with Dr. John O’Keefe about the potential saliva offers in the diagnosis and early detection of malignancies. Saliva may even have the potential of monitoring our health status and signalling diseases. 

Dr. David T.W. Wong DMD, DMSc is Felix & Mildred Yip Endowed Professor, Associate Dean of Research and Director of the Oral/Head and Neck Oncology Research Center at UCLA. Dr. Wong is an active scientist in oral cancer and saliva diagnostics research. He has authored over 280 peer reviewed scientific publications. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS), past member of the ADA Council of Scientific Affairs and the past president of American Association of Dental Research (AADR).

Highlights

• Saliva which is so integral in our body is now being considered as the next frontier in molecular diagnostics in the early detection of cancer and in the monitoring an individual’s health status.
• Saliva is as important as blood in detecting health problems and it remains that regulatory authorities recognize this emerging fact.
• A game changer may be the identification of tumor fingerprints through bio fluids non-invasively.
• The role of associations is to shed light on the new research and technologies and to raise awareness among dentists about the potential of these new technologies for their dental practices.