Salivary Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Detection: Will It Help the Implant Dentist?

The American Dental Association has recommended taking a recent travel history and checking respiratory symptoms and body temperature as screening tools in conjunction with the dental team wearing a plethora of personal protective equipment (PPE). The salivary glands, tongue, and lungs are considered possible hosts of 2019-nCoV due to expression of ACE2 receptors.1 Additionally, ACE2 receptors are concentrated on the cell surfaces of epithelial cells of the tongue and oral mucosal tissues.2 ACE2 receptors are responsible for transporting the virus from the extracellular environment to intracellular sites, which leads to infection in the patient. The Rao group concluded that saliva had a better detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 via RT-PCR assay in comparison to an NPS.4 However, Skolimowska et al.5 conducted a prospective cross-sectional study limited to acute symptomatic (