• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.10-26
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether various saliva collection methods affect the observed salivary microbiome and whether microbiomes of stimulated and unstimulated saliva and plaque differ in richness and diversity. Methods: Seven sampling methods for unstimulated saliva, stimulated saliva, and plaque samples were applied to six orally and systemically healthy participants. Bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes of 10 major oral bacterial species, namely, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sobrinus, and Lactobacillus casei, were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. We comprehensively examined the dependence of the amount of bacterial ribosomal DNA (rDNA), bacterial-community composition, and relative abundance of each species on sample collection methods. Results: There were significant differences in the bacterial rDNA copy number depending on the collection method in three species: F. nucleatum, P. nigrescens, and S. mitis. The species with the highest richness was S. mitis, with the range from 89.31% to 100.00%, followed by F. nucleatum, P. nigrescens, T. denticola, T. forsythia, and P. intermedia, and the sum of the proportions of the remaining five species was less than 1%. The species with the lowest observed richness was P. gingivalis (<0.1%). The Shannon diversity index was the highest in unstimulated saliva collected with a funnel (4.449). The Shannon diversity index was higher in plaque samples (3.623) than in unstimulated (3.171) and stimulated (3.129) saliva and in mouthwash saliva samples (2.061). Conclusions: The oral microbial profile of saliva samples can be affected by sample collection methods, and saliva differs from plaque in the microbiome. An easy and rapid technique for saliva collection is desirable; however, observed microbial-community composition may more accurately reflect the actual microbiome when unstimulated saliva is assayed.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2021

Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019), the infection has spread worldwide due to the highly contagious nature of severe acute syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). To manage SARS-CoV-2, the development of diagnostic assays that can quickly and accurately identify the disease in patients is necessary. Currently, nucleic acid-based testing and serology-based testing are two widely used approaches. Of these, nucleic acid-based testing with quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-qPCR) using nasopharyngeal (NP) and/or oropharyngeal (OP) swabs is considered to be the gold standard. Recently, the use of saliva samples has been considered as an alternative method of sample collection. Compared to the NP and OP swab methods, saliva specimens have several advantages. Saliva specimens are easier to collect. Self-collection of saliva specimens can reduce the risk of infection to healthcare providers and reduce sample collection time and cost. Until recently, the sensitivity and accuracy of the data obtained using saliva specimens for SARS-CoV-2 detection was controversial. However, recent clinical research has found that sensitive and reliable data can be obtained from saliva specimens using RT-qPCR, with approximately 81% to 95% correspondence with the data obtained from NP and OP swabs. These data suggest that self-collected saliva is an alternative option for the diagnosis of COVID-19.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.223-232
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• 2014

Most of salivary cortisol are an unbound free form reflecting physiological function later. Thus, it is used frequently to evaluate the HPA-Axis and physiological function. Although the needs of salivary cortisol measurement in Korean Medicine is higher and higher, there are not many studies, because the reliability of salivary cortisol measurement is not high. To make the reliability high and encourage to use it in Korean Medicine, the goal of this study is to suggest the standard method of saliva collecting for cortisol measurement through the review of previous studies using salivary cortisol and to encourage to use it in clinical fields in Korean Medicine. The results are as followed; First, salivary cortisol has many benefits, i. e. easy collecting, non-invasive collecting, and reflecting the physiological function. Second, the collecting time and method are kept sternly, because the methods of saliva collecting vary depending on the goal of study. Third, the specific tools for saliva collecting are recommended to prevent contamination. In conclusion, if the standard methods of saliva collecting is kept to measure salivary cortisol, it would be very useful in many fields of Korean Medicine.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.102-111
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• 2015

Due to the rapid advancements in detection technologies, saliva has the potential to become a first-line diagnostic sample of choice in the fields of medicine and dentistry. Saliva has many useful advantages to serum. Simple, non-invasive and cost-effective approaches can be made possible for the screening of large populations. There is minimal risk of infections during sample collection and saliva can be used in clinically challenging situations, such as obtaining samples from children, or disabled or anxious patients. This review examines the diagnostic application of saliva and provides a summary of recent research advancement.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2023

Function of salivary gland and saliva composition can be an indicator of individual's health status. Recently, saliva has been thought to have a high potential for usage in the biomedical field to diagnose, evaluate, and prevent systemic health due to the technological advances in analyzing and detecting small elements such as immunological and metabolic products, viruses, microorganisms, hormones in saliva. As a diagnostic specimen, saliva has some useful advantages compared to serum. Because of simple non-invasive method, saliva sampling is quite comfort for the patient, and it doesn't require specialists to collect samples. The possibility of infection during the collection process is also low. For this reason, proteins, genetic materials, and various biomarkers in saliva are actively being utilized on studying stress, microbiomics, genetics, and epigenetics. For the research on collecting big data related to systemic health, the needs on biobank has been focused. Regeneration of salivary gland based on tissue engineering has been also on advancement. However, there are still many issues to be solved, such as the standardization of sample collection, storage, and usage. This review focuses on the recent trends in the field of saliva research and highlight the future perspectives in biomedical and other applications.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.394-410
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the microbial composition of 3 types of oral samples through 16S metagenomic sequencing to determine how to resolve some sampling issues that occur during the collection of sub-gingival plaque samples. Methods: In total, 20 subjects were recruited. In both the healthy and periodontitis groups, samples of saliva and supra-gingival plaque were collected. Additionally, in the periodontitis group, sub-gingival plaque samples were collected from the deepest periodontal pocket. After DNA extraction from each sample, polymerase chain reaction amplification was performed on the V3-V4 hypervariable region on the 16S rRNA gene, followed by metagenomic sequencing and a bioinformatics analysis. Results: When comparing the healthy and periodontitis groups in terms of alpha-diversity, the saliva samples demonstrated much more substantial differences in bacterial diversity than the supra-gingival plaque samples. Moreover, in a comparison between the samples in the case group, the diversity score of the saliva samples was higher than that of the supra-gingival plaque samples, and it was similar to that of the sub-gingival plaque samples. In the beta-diversity analysis, the sub-gingival plaque samples exhibited a clustering pattern similar to that of the periodontitis group. Bacterial relative abundance analysis at the species level indicated lower relative frequencies of bacteria in the healthy group than in the periodontitis group. A statistically significant difference in frequency was observed in the saliva samples for specific pathogenic species (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Prevotella intermedia). The saliva samples exhibited a similar relative richness of bacterial communities to that of sub-gingival plaque samples. Conclusions: In this 16S oral microbiome study, we confirmed that saliva samples had a microbial composition that was more similar to that of sub-gingival plaque samples than to that of supra-gingival plaque samples within the periodontitis group.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.445-454
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• 2019

This study was conducted to find out physical changes in the blood pressure and saliva cortisol of patients with high blood pressure and diabetes after participating in agro-healing activities. The saliva cortisol and blood pressure of 14 males and females aged 49.79±10.48 on average were measured after participating in agro-healing activities. The saliva collection system was used, and their satisfaction level for the program was also surveyed. Changes in the values before and after participating in the agro-healing activities were compared and analyzed. The cortisol concentration, a stress hormone, was reduced from 6.76nmol/L before the program to 4.86nmol/L after the program, down by 1.9nmol/L, which was a statistically significant difference (z=-3.170, p<.01). In addition, the cortisol concentration was gradually reduced through the entire program from Session 1 to Session 7. Changes in the blood pressure of subjects before and after participating in agro-healing activities were examined, and the total systolic and diastolic blood pressure continuously decreased after participating in agro-healing activities through the entire program from Session 1 to Session 7. Their systolic blood pressure was reduced statistically significantly (z=-1.947, p<.05). Also, participants' satisfaction was analyzed and it was found that more than 95% of participants answered 'satisfied' and 'very satisfied' with agro-healing activities. Therefore, these results indicate that agro-healing activities performed in the healing-farm had a positive impact on the cortisol concentration and blood pressure of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. In addition, their high satisfaction for this program seemed to improve the psychological and physiological conditions of subjects.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.109-116
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• 2021

Purpose: Xerostomia is subjective feeling of dry mouth. It is complicated and multifactorial, which burdens clinicians in diagnosis and treatment of the problem. The goal of this study was to discuss the clinical importance of salivary flow rate, pH and subjective symptoms for evaluating oral dryness among young healthy male subjects. Methods: Thirty male participants were recruited in this study (mean age±standard deviation of 25.70±1.84). All participants completed 'Xerostomia Inventory' to measure subjective oral dryness scores. Unstimulated saliva and stimulated saliva were collected from each participant twice a day at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm, using spitting method. Salivary flow rates and pH were measured immediately after collection. Relationship between objective and subjective measurements were analyzed. Results: There were excellent intra-examiner reliability for salivary flow rate and pH and good internal consistency for Xerostomia Inventory. Objective measurements and subjective symptoms did not exhibit positive association. Salivary flow rate in unstimulated and stimulated condition showed positive association and also for salivary pH. Stimulated salivary flow rate also presented positive correlation with stimulated salivary pH. Conclusions: Comprehensive assessment of objective measurements and subjective symptoms may be complimentary for assessing oral dryness, which would assist in implementing early interventions to improve patient's quality of life.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.201-215
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• 2007

This study examined cortisol patterning in 160 children(79 boys, 81 girls; aged 4-5) attending twelve childcare centers in Seoul and Kyunggi Province. Saliva samples for the assay of cortisol were collected twice a day at 10 : 30 am and 3 : 30 pm. Saliva samples were collected again within a week after the first collection. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The cortisol level of the afternoon showed neither increase nor decrease compared to morning. Regression analysis indicated that time children spent at childcare centers accounted for increased afternoon cortisol levels; that is, higher levels of afternoon cortisol were associated with more hours per day at childcare centers.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2013

Advantage of saliva analysis are the ease of sample collection and that samples can be collected more frequently with much less stress on the patient. The objective of the present study was to comparatively evaluate the concentrations of saliva and fasting serum glucose in both normal and diabetic subjects. The mean salivary glucose level in diabetic patients was $15.66{\pm}17.1$ mg/dl and $1.78{\pm}1.72$ mg/dl (P = 0.0006) in the control group. The mean fasting serum glucose level in diabetic patients was $202.12{\pm}66.91$ mg/dl, while that in the control group was $94.21{\pm}14.97$ mg/dl (P < 0.0001). The 0.95 degree of correlation between salivary and fasting serum glucose could be demonstrated. The concentration of salivary and fasting serum glucose was not significant different betweeen the measurements for male and female. In the oral glucose tolerance test (75g), the glucose concentration in saliva progressively increased during the first 30 minutes of the test and then progressively decreased, reaching at minutes 120 ~ 180 lowest point as like fasting serum glucose concentration. We can conclude that salivary glucose concentration was significantly higher in the diabetic subjects and that there was significant correlation between salivary and fasting serum glucose concentration. Measurement of salivary glucose could be a useful test having good correlation between salivary and fasting serum glucose concentration.