Clinical Evaluation of Saliva Testing

Serum Testing

Perhaps the most obvious advantage of serum testing is that, during medical training, physicians are educated regarding serum hormone evaluation. Tables of normal serum values for sex and steroid hormones are published in reference texts and most physicians have reference laboratories readily available. Thus, this testing vehicle is readily accessible and has established standards for evaluating results.

Saliva Testing

Salivary hormone analysis is a useful clinical tool in the assessment of women, and scientific evidence supports its use because it offers an accurate and comprehensive reflection of hormone bioavailability at the tissue level.  Reference values for salivary hormone levels have been established for women. Salivary hormone levels reflect the delivery of hormone to tissue from all mechanisms-free, protein-bound, red blood cell-bound and conjugated.

View the full article “The Salivary Hormone Profile in the Clinical Evaluation of Women”, by Kenna Stephenson, MD, FAAFP