salivary testing

Throwback: Leaky Gum Syndrome & The Oral-Systemic Link

Posted on by Cass Nelson-Dooley MS
Few of us think much about the health of our mouth lining unless our gums are swollen and red or if we have mouth pain. But the tissue lining your gums and the inside of your mouth is vitally important to keeping you safe from heart disease, joint pain, and brain disease. How do healthy gums protect you from all of that? Your mouth lining is a critical defense between infections in your mouth and the rest of your body. Bleeding, swollen, or sore gums can point to a weak defense in the mouth ...
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Midlife Health Is About More Than Menopause

Posted on by Erika Schlick
    In our previous post, we explored Erika Schlick’s journey from navigating her own complex health challenges to creating health education platforms that help women better understand and advocate for their health. That journey ultimately led to the Women’s Midlife Health Summit, but the conversation goes far beyond menopause. While hormonal changes are an important part of midlife, they are only one piece of the larger health picture. The Summit brings together experts acro...
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Why Erika Schlick Is Bringing Together Leading Women’s Health Experts

Posted on by Erika Schlick
    For more than a decade, Erika Schlick’s work in health education has been shaped by her own experience as a patient and a desire to help others better understand what is happening in their bodies so they can ask better questions and advocate for their health. Erika’s health changed dramatically in 2012 when she became chronically ill and spent years dealing with Lyme disease, mold illness, autoimmune conditions, gut issues, thyroid health, and many of the overlapping f...
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From Cleaning to Cause: How Salivary Testing Changes the Patient Conversation

Posted on by Jonathan Evans
      For many patients, the hygiene appointment still carries a simple expectation: “I’m here to get my teeth cleaned.” As clinicians, we understand that what we see in the chair often tells a much deeper story. Bleeding, inflammation, pocketing, bone loss, and recurring disease activity are not simply “cleaning issues.” They are signs of an infection-driven inflammatory condition that requires diagnosis, strategy, and targeted therapy. The challenge is helping patie...
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Bleeding Gums Aren’t Just a Hygiene Issue – They’re Often a Diagnostic Opportunity

Posted on by Tosha Kozloski, RDH
For a long time, bleeding gums were treated as a home care conversation. Brush better. Floss more consistently. Let’s keep an eye on it… but what are we actually waiting for? That’s how most of us were taught. And honestly, it’s exactly how I practiced early in my career too. In 2008, when I began using salivary diagnostics alongside phase-contrast microscopy, something shifted for me. For the first time, I wasn’t making educated guesses. I could identify which microbes were prese...
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Virtual Interview with Dr. Rob Frey

Posted on by Rob Frey, DDS, MPH
Dr. Ron McGlennen: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started in your profession. What is your driver to do what you do? Dr. Rob Frey: I have a passion for blending esthetic dentistry, functional dentistry, and whole-body health. My journey into dentistry started with a desire to work in healthcare in a way that combined science, artistry, and meaningful human connection. I was drawn to the idea that dentistry allows you to not only restore health, but also confidence, comfort,...
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The Secret Weapon – Part Two

Posted on by Michael Goldberg DMD
In Part One, we explored how salivary analysis changes the patient conversation – helping patients better understand their health and why treatment matters. But its impact goes even further – empowering both the clinical team and the practice, which we explore below in Part Two. The Real Secret Salivary analysis isn’t powerful because it’s advanced. It’s powerful because it changes the story. It moves dentistry from:“Here’s what you need.” To: “Here’s what your body is telling us—...
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RDH Spotlight: Maiya White, RDH

Posted on by Maiya White, RDH
  Dr. McGlennen: What inspired you to pursue a career in dental hygiene, and what do you find most rewarding about it? Maiya: I became inspired by the dental hygiene profession when I realized hygienists are the link between oral and systemic health, fusing the line between the Mouth-Body Connection. Helping patients achieve the best overall health is the most rewarding part of my career. Dr. McGlennen: How has incorporating salivary diagnostics into your practice changed the way...
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The Mouth Is Talking. Are We Listening?

Posted on by Dr. Valerie Kanter, DMD, MS; Dr. Mary Ellen Chalmers, DMD, IFMCP; Dr. Staci Whitman, DMD, IFMCP
For decades, dentistry has focused solely on what we can see. Lesions, pockets, radiolucencies, and wear patterns have guided our treatment planning and shaped the way we understand disease. These visual cues are essential, but what if the most important data about our patients’ health has been communicated all along through the oral microbiome and revealed through… SPIT? At the Institute for Functional Dentistry (IFD), we teach dentists systems biology and timeline medicine, creating a s...
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Most of My Career, I Measured the Wrong Thing (And How OralDNA Forced Me to Change My Scorecard) – Part Two

Posted on by Jonathan Evans
Last week, we explored the awakening that comes from seeing the unseen. This week, Jonathan dives into the hard truth: a technically perfect Scaling and Root Planing (SRP) doesn’t always equal success. We’ll see how embracing an outcome-focused mindset changes not just the approach to care, but the results and the satisfaction hygienists and patients alike experience. The Hard Truth: Great SRP With Bad Outcomes Is Not a Win This is where my mindset truly flipped. I had to admit to myself: ...
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