From Your Home to the Lab: Understanding At-Home Saliva Testing

A simple look at how saliva is collected, analyzed, and transformed into quantitative molecular information about selected oral microorganisms.

At-home testing is becoming increasingly familiar across many areas of healthcare and wellness.

For oral microbial testing, saliva offers an especially convenient sample because collection can be non-invasive and can be performed without a traditional blood draw.

From Your Home to the Lab: How At-Home Saliva Testing Works

A typical at-home saliva testing workflow is designed to make sample collection simple and convenient while maintaining appropriate handling from collection through laboratory analysis.

1. Order Your Testing Kit

   Patients can order a testing kit online or obtain one through a participating dental professional. The collection kit is then shipped directly to the patient.

2. Collect Your Saliva Sample

   Following the provided instructions, the patient collects a saliva sample using the supplied collection device.

3. Preserve and Prepare the Sample

   The collected sample is transferred into the appropriate collection and preservation tube and prepared according to the provided shipping instructions.

4. Return the Sample to the Laboratory

   The prepared sample is returned to the laboratory using the provided prepaid shipping materials, making the process convenient from home.

5. Laboratory Molecular Testing

   Once received, the laboratory processes the sample using the specified molecular testing method. For targeted microbial testing, quantitative PCR (qPCR) can be used to detect and quantify selected bacterial targets.

6. Receive Your Digital Report

   Once testing is complete, the results are provided electronically. Patients can share their report with their dentist or other qualified dental professional, who can consider the microbial findings alongside the patient's clinical examination, periodontal measurements, and overall oral health information.

From collection to results, the goal is simple: make saliva-based molecular testing convenient while providing quantitative information that can be considered as part of a broader oral health assessment.

Saliva collection is relatively simple, non-invasive, and convenient. For oral microbial testing, saliva can contain DNA from microorganisms present in the oral environment, making it a practical sample for certain molecular applications. However, the sample represents a particular biological moment and collection method. Proper instructions and sample handling remain important.

Patients should always follow the specific instructions provided with their testing kit.

Instructions may address factors such as:

• Eating and drinking
• Brushing teeth
• Using mouthwash
• Smoking or vaping
• Timing of collection
• Proper sample volume
• Packaging and shipping

The exact requirements depend on the specific test and collection protocol.

A microbial test provides information about the targets included in that particular assay. For example, a targeted molecular panel may identify and quantify selected (key) periodontal microorganisms. It does not necessarily provide a complete picture of every microorganism in the mouth.

For a clinical test, patients should discuss results with an appropriately qualified dental professional.

A laboratory report is one source of information. It should be considered together with clinical findings and other relevant information.

At-home testing can make sample collection more convenient and potentially make certain forms of testing easier to incorporate into people's routines. At Unique Biosciences, our goal is to combine convenient saliva collection with quantitative molecular testing and clear reporting so that microbial information can be considered within appropriate dental care.

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