Role of salivary proteomics in oral diseases: A review

Oral diseases are an imposing public health issue with a gradient trend of increase in incidence and morbidity rates worldwide. The diagnosis of disease state is challenging owing to the lack of sensitive and characteristic biomarkers in the serum and tissues. Salivary proteomic analysis represents a field for both diagnosis and treatment of various diseases and could be considered a new approach to the prevention of cancer, oral pathological conditions. The protein and nucleic acid molecules derived from oral tissues can be retrieved from the saliva. Thus salivary biomarker analysis provides a non-invasive methodology for early diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring treatment outcomes. This review aims to throw light on the characteristics of salivary proteins, methodology of detection and their role in oral diseases.