{"id":36015,"date":"2026-10-30T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T17:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/?p=36015"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:50:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:50:53","slug":"discover-what-saliva-can-reveal-about-whole-body-health-at-the-nydha-2026-empire-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/2026\/10\/30\/discover-what-saliva-can-reveal-about-whole-body-health-at-the-nydha-2026-empire-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover What Saliva Can Reveal About Whole-Body Health at the NYDHA 2026 Empire Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rdhhumanitarian.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-36017\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/RDHHumanitarian.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"322\" height=\"240\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dental hygienists play an important role in recognizing the connections between oral health and overall wellness. At the <\/span><b>2026 NYDHA Empire Conference<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, attendees will have an opportunity to explore how salivary diagnostics can support this connection and help advance preventive, personalized patient care.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taking place November 6\u20138 at the Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge, New York, the annual conference brings dental hygiene professionals together for continuing education, networking, and the latest insights into clinical practice. With up to 11 continuing education hours available, the event offers opportunities to expand clinical knowledge, connect with colleagues, and explore innovations shaping the profession.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One session of particular interest to dental professionals exploring the oral-systemic connection is <\/span><b>\u201cSpit Happens: What Your Saliva Says About Your Whole Body Health,\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> presented by Nichelle Venable, BSDH, RDH.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scheduled for Saturday, November 7, from 3\u20135 p.m., this two-hour continuing education course will examine the growing role of salivary diagnostics in understanding oral inflammation and its potential connections to systemic health. Participants will explore how salivary testing can identify periodontal pathogens and support the recognition of health risks associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and preterm birth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The session will also focus on practical ways to incorporate saliva testing into clinical hygiene workflows. Attendees will learn about test selection, communicating the value of testing to patients, and working with medical professionals to support a more comprehensive approach to care.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Venable brings more than 20 years of experience in dentistry, education, and leadership. As the founder of The RDH Humanitarian Project, she is also dedicated to expanding access to preventive dental care for underserved veterans and seniors. Her presentations combine clinical science, real-world strategies, and engaging storytelling to inspire dental professionals to expand their impact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond this session, the Empire Conference features a variety of educational opportunities, including presentations on artificial intelligence in periodontal disease classification, trauma-informed patient care, lasers in hygiene, and oral-systemic lesions in autoimmune diseases. Attendees can also visit the exhibit hall, connect with industry representatives, and participate in networking and social events throughout the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Join the conversation about the future of preventive care.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The NYDHA 2026 Empire Conference offers dental hygienists an opportunity to strengthen their knowledge, discover new approaches to patient care, and explore how saliva testing can contribute to a broader understanding of health.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about the conference, review the full program, and register at<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/nydha.org\/empire-conference\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nydha.org\/empire-conference<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/get-started\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-28177 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-1024x293.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-1024x293.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-300x86.png 300w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-768x219.png 768w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-1536x439.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/OralDNA_Banners-2-2048x585.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dental hygienists play an important role in recognizing the connections between oral health and overall wellness. At the 2026 NYDHA Empire Conference, attendees will have an opportunity to explore how salivary diagnostics can support this connection and help advance preventive, personalized patient care. Taking place November 6\u20138 at the Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge, <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/2026\/10\/30\/discover-what-saliva-can-reveal-about-whole-body-health-at-the-nydha-2026-empire-conference\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":36016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[185,110],"tags":[9,179,147,17,3,46],"class_list":["post-36015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-continuing-education","category-salivary-diagnostics","tag-bacterial-testing","tag-continuing-education","tag-oral-microbiome","tag-oral-systemic-connection","tag-salivary-diagnostics","tag-salivary-testing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/RDH-Humanitarian.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7W16z-9mT","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36015"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36020,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36015\/revisions\/36020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}