From the Doctor’s Desk: What’s All The Fuss About Saliva Testing?

Dr. Nathan Goodyear

Confused about saliva testing? Don’t worry, your physician may be just as confused.

I don’t mean to suggest that the science of saliva testing is new. In fact, the clinical use of saliva testing of hormones has been validated over the past 25+ years, and it is well documented in journal publications such as Gynecology Endocrinology, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, and Menopause. I know, you’re probably not going to run out and subscribe to those now, but these journals are important to doctors. They range from hard-core bench research to more clinical research.

So why use saliva testing for hormones? The short answer is accuracy.

This is going to get technical, so stick with me. See, hormones in the blood stream are mostly bound to carrier proteins (95-99%) for transportation to target tissues. In this transportation form, hormones are inactivated and not available for use. Only when the hormone is released inside the cells of the target tissue does it begin to have an effect. Saliva testing allows us to see your hormone levels inside the cells at the tissue level. That is where these free hormones can cause symptoms like hot flashes, irritability, breast tenderness, and dry skin.

You’re probably wondering, “Then why isn’t every doctor checking my hormones with a saliva test?” Or even worse, you may have been told that saliva testing is dangerous or inaccurate. Unfortunately, physicians are slow to apply new evidence into practice. History has shown this before. The medical community knew vitamin C replacement prevented scurvy on long sea journeys for 193 years before action was taken.

Hopefully, we will not wait that long this go around.