Methods of collection of saliva - A Review

In the recent days, saliva has gained importance as a diagnostic fluid. Human saliva is an easily accessible biochemical fluid, similar to blood in various biological aspects. When compared to other body fluids, saliva is readily available, can be non-invasively collected, with no risk of cross infection. Moreover, salivary analysis can detect changes that are reflective of both oral and systemic conditions. Despite its advantages as a diagnostic fluid, lack of adequate and ac-curate information regarding the methods of collection and storage of samples, prior to the analysis hampers the frequent use of saliva. Successful measurement of salivary parameters requires optimal collection procedures, which is one of the most important pre analytical steps. The present paper is a brief review of the most common and recent methods for collection of saliva. The authors have focussed on the techniques, requisites, advantages, disadvantages and possible variations that can affect the collection of saliva.