Saliva metabolomics: a non-invasive frontier for diagnosing and managing oral diseases
Xinyuan Zhao, Chen Xu, Lu Ye, Zihao Zhou, Pei Lin, Yunfan Lin, Shen Hu, Li Cui
Abstract
Salivary metabolomics represents a powerful noninvasive approach for diagnosing, monitoring, and managing oral diseases, providing valuable insights into the metabolic alterations associated with conditions such as oral cancer, oral precancerous lesions, periodontal diseases, and dental caries. Through the comprehensive analysis of salivary metabolites, this methodology facilitates the identification of disease-specific biomarkers reflective of underlying pathophysiological processes, including inflammation, microbial dysbiosis, and metabolic reprogramming. Despite its promising clinical potential, several significant challenges remain, notably the difficulty in establishing direct associations between specific salivary metabolites and distinct disease mechanisms, considerable inter-individual variability, and the inherent complexity of the oral microenvironment. Furthermore, issues related to data interpretation complexity, technological constraints, and the necessity for rigorous clinical validation continue to impede its broader clinical adoption. Nevertheless, ongoing advancements in analytical technologies and bioinformatics approaches hold considerable promise for addressing these limitations, positioning salivary metabolomics as a transformative tool for precision diagnosis and personalized treatment in oral health care.