Evaluation of salivary glucose as a reliable alternative to blood glucose levels in diabetes mellitus

Abstract

There have been several methods employed in the estimation of newlineglucose levels in diabetics using various body fluids. Blood testing has always newlinebeen the gold standard for screening, monitoring and diagnosing DM. But newlinethese techniques are invasive and painful and cause anxiety and difficultly to newlineperform the test in long term diabetics. Various other physiological body fluids newlinewere also used to detect the glucose levels in the diabetics. A plethora of newlinebiosensors have been developed to provide diagnostic information regarding newlineglycemic status. However, there have been real challenges in using them as newlinean alternative to blood in diabetics. Saliva has always been a promising newlinemedium to perform various tests and also reflects the physiologic state of the body in various diseases. Salivary glucose levels can be used as a diagnostic newlinemarker in diabetics. Also, it can be used for continuous monitoring and to newlineevaluate the diabetic state. Unstimulated and stimulated salivary glucose newlinelevels have to be evaluated. There needs to be a large scale study which newlineevaluates the correlation between salivary glucose and blood glucose in newlinevarious types of diabetes and cut off values of salivary glucose in fasting and newlinepost prandial states. The values of salivary glucose levels need to be newlinestandardised prior to the use of saliva in salivary glucometers to diagnose or newlinemonitor diabetics. newline