Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Oral Health
Published in: BMC Oral Health 1/2023

Open Access 01-12-2023 | Coronavirus | Research

Deciphering the role of Saliva in COVID 19: A global cross-sectional study on the knowledge, awareness and perception among dentists

Authors: Selvakumar Kritika, Sekar Mahalaxmi, N Srinivasan, Jogikalmat Krithikadatta

Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2023

Login to get access

Abstract

Objectives

The global pandemic outbreak of the coronavirus has instilled the quest amongst researchers on the expedited need for the early detection of viral load. Saliva is a complex oral biological fluid which not only causes the disease transmission but can be an effective alternative sample for detection of SARS-CoV2. This provides an ideal opportunity for dentists to be the frontline healthcare professionals who can collect the salivary samples; however the awareness of this amongst dentists is uncertain. Hence the aim of this survey was to evaluate the knowledge, perception and awareness of the role of saliva in detecting the SARS-CoV2 among dentists worldwide.

Methods

The online questionnaire comprising of 19 questions was shared to 1100 dentists worldwide and a total of 720 responses was collected. The data was tabulated, statistically analysed using the non- parametric Kruskal-Wallis test (p < 0.05). Based on the principal component analysis, 4 components (knowledge about virus transmission, perception about SARS-CoV2 virus, awareness on the sample collection and knowledge about prevention of the virus) were obtained which was compared with the 3 independent variables (years of clinical experience, occupation and region).

Results

A statistically significant difference was observed in the awareness quotient amongst the dentists with 0–5 years and greater than 20 years of clinical experience. In terms of the occupation, a significant difference was noted when comparing the postgraduate students to practitioners knowledge about the virus transmission. A highly significant difference was seen on comparing academicians and postgraduate students and also between academicians and practitioners. No significant difference was evidenced amongst the different regions, however the mean score was in the range of 3-3.44.

Conclusion

This survey highlights the deficiency in the knowledge, perception and awareness among dentists worldwide.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Su S, Wong G, Shi W, Liu J, Lai AC, Zhou J, Liu W, Bi Y, Gao GF. Epidemiology, genetic recombination, and pathogenesis of coronaviruses. Trends Microbiol. 2016;24:490–502.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
2.
3.
Letko M, Marzi A, Munster V. Functional assessment of cell entry and receptor usage for SARS-CoV-2 and other lineage B betacoronaviruses. Nat Microbiol. 2020;5:562–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
4.
Wu F, Zhao S, Yu B, Chen YM, Wang W, Song ZG, Hu Y, Tao ZW, Tian JH, Pei YY, Yuan ML. A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China. Nature. 2020;579:265–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
5.
Korber B, Fischer WM, Gnanakaran S, Yoon H, Theiler J, Abfalterer W, Hengartner N, Giorgi EE, Bhattacharya T, Foley B, Hastie KM. Tracking changes in SARS-CoV-2 spike: evidence that D614G increases infectivity of the COVID-19 virus, Cell 182 (2020) 812–27.
6.
Kumar BK, Venkatraja B, Prithvisagar KS, Rai P, Rohit A, Hegde MN, Karunasagar I, Karunasagar I. Mutational analysis unveils the temporal and spatial distribution of G614 genotype of SARS-CoV-2 in different Indian states and its association with case fatality rate of COVID-19. (2020). bioRxiv.
7.
Sant’Ana G, Imoto AM, Amorim FF, Taminato M, Peccin MS, Santana LA, Göttems LBD, Camargo EB. Infection and death in healthcare workers due to COVID-19: a systematic review. Acta Paul Enferm. 2020;33:1–9.
8.
Khurshid Z, Zafar MS, Khan RS, Najeeb S, Slowey PD, Rehman IU. Role of salivary biomarkers in oral cancer detection. Adv Clin Chem. 2018;86:23–70.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Khurshid Z, Zafar M, Khan E, Mali M, Latif M. Human saliva can be a diagnostic tool for Zika virus detection. J Infect Public Health. 2019;12:601–4.CrossRefPubMed
10.
11.
Collins AR, Grubb A, Cystatin D. A natural salivary cysteine protease inhibitor, inhibits coronavirus replication at its physiologic concentration. Oral Microbiol Immunol. 1998;13:59–61.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
12.
Farshidfar N, Hamedani S. Hyposalivation as a potential risk for SARS-CoV‐2 infection: inhibitory role of saliva. Oral Dis. 2020;00:1–2.
13.
Cañete MG, Valenzuela IM, Garcés PC, Massó IC, González MJ, Providell SG. Saliva sample for the massive screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2021;131:540–8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
14.
Wyllie AL, Fournier J, Casanovas-Massana A, Campbell M, Tokuyama M, Vijayakumar P, Geng B, Muenker MC, Moore AJ, Vogels CB, Petrone ME. Saliva is more sensitive for SARS-CoV-2 detection in COVID-19 patients than nasopharyngeal swabs. N Engl J Med. 2020;383:1283–6.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Tutuncu EE, Ozgur D, Karamese M. Saliva samples for detection of SARS-CoV‐2 in mildly symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. J Med Virol. 2021;93:2932–7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
16.
Teo AKJ, Choudhury Y, Tan IB, Cher CY, Chew SH, Wan ZY, Cheng LTE, Oon LLE, Tan MH, Chan KS, Hsu LY. Saliva is more sensitive than nasopharyngeal or nasal swabs for diagnosis of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 infection. Sci Rep. 2021;11:1–8.
17.
18.
Pasomsub E, Watcharananan SP, Boonyawat K, Janchompoo P, Wongtabtim G, Suksuwan W, Sungkanuparph S, Phuphuakrat A. Saliva sample as a non-invasive specimen for the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019: a cross-sectional study. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2021;27:285e1–4.CrossRef
19.
Chen JHK, Yip CCY, Poon RWS, Chan KH, Cheng VCC, Hung IFN, Chan JFW, Yuen KY, To KKW. Evaluating the use of posterior oropharyngeal saliva in a point-of-care assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, Emerg. Microbes Infect. 2020;9:1356–9.CrossRef
20.
Iwasaki S, Fujisawa S, Nakakubo S, Kamada K, Yamashita Y, Fukumoto T, Sato K, Oguri S, Taki K, Senjo H. Sugita. Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 detection in nasopharyngeal swab and saliva. J Infect. 2020;81:e145–7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
21.
22.
Meng L, Hua F, Bian Z. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): emerging and future challenges for dental and oral medicine. J Dent Res. 2020;99:481–7.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Kohn WG, Collins AS, Cleveland JL, Harte JA, Eklund KJ, Malvitz DM. Guidelines for infection control in dental health-care settings-2003. 52 (2003) 17.
24.
Fineberg HV. Rapid expert consultation on the possibility of bioaerosol spread of SARS-CoV-2 for the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Apr 1 (2020).
25.
Stadnytskyi V, Bax CE, Bax A, Anfinrud P. The airborne lifetime of small speech droplets and their potential importance in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2020;117:11875–7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
26.
Fennelly KP, Martyny JW, Fulton KE, Orme IM, Cave DM, Heifets LB. Cough-generated aerosols of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a new method to study infectiousness. Am J Respir Critic Care Med. 2004;169:604–9.CrossRef
27.
Tajima Y, Suda Y, Yano K. A case report of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed in saliva specimens up to 37 days after onset: proposal of saliva specimens for COVID-19 diagnosis and virus monitoring. J Infect Chemother. 2020;26:1086–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Xu H, Zhong L, Deng J, Peng J, Dan H, Zeng X, Li T, Chen Q. High expression of ACE2 receptor of 2019-nCoV on the epithelial cells of oral mucosa. Int J Oral Sci. 2020;12:1–5.CrossRef
29.
Wang C, Wu H, Ding X, Ji H, Jiao P, Song H, Li S, Du H. Does infection of 2019 novel coronavirus cause acute and/or chronic sialadenitis? Med Hypotheses. 2020;140:109789.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
30.
Liu L, Wei Q, Alvarez X, Wang H, Du Y, Zhu H, Jiang H, Zhou J, Lam P, Zhang L, Lackner A. Epithelial cells lining salivary gland ducts are early target cells of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in the upper respiratory tracts of rhesus macaques. J Virol. 2011;85:4025–30.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
31.
Wang WK, Chen SY, Liu IJ, Chen YC, Chen HL, Yang CF, Chen PJ, Yeh SH, Kao CL, Huang LM, Hsueh PR. Detection of SARS-associated coronavirus in throat wash and saliva in early diagnosis. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10:1213.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
32.
To KKW, Tsang OTY, Yip CCY, Chan KH, Wu TC, Chan JMC, Leung WS, Chik TSH, Choi CYC, Kandamby DH, Lung DC. Consistent detection of 2019 novel coronavirus in saliva. Clin Infecti Dis. 2020;71:841–3.CrossRef
33.
34.
Fallahi HR, Keyhan SO, Zandian D, Kim SG, Cheshmi B. Being a front-line dentist during the Covid-19 pandemic: a literature review. Maxillofac Plast Reconstr Surg. 2020;42:1–9.CrossRef
35.
Santosh TS, Parmar R, Anand H, Srikanth K, Saritha M. A review of salivary diagnostics and its potential implication in detection of Covid-19. Cureus. 2020;12:e7708.
36.
37.
Seneviratne CJ, Balan P, Ko KKK, Udawatte NS, Lai D, Ng DHL, Venkatachalam I, Lim KS, Ling ML, Oon L, Goh BT. Efficacy of commercial mouth-rinses on SARS-CoV-2 viral load in saliva: randomized control trial in Singapore. Infection. 2021;49:305–11.CrossRefPubMed
38.
US Food and Drug Administration. Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: FDA authorizes first diagnostic test using at-home collection of saliva specimens. May 8 (2020).
39.
Pinilla YT, Heinzel C, Caminada LF, Consolaro D, Esen M, Kremsner PG, Held J, Kreidenweiss A, Fendel R. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are persisting in saliva for more than 15 months after infection and become strongly boosted after vaccination. Front Immunol. 2021;12:798859.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
40.
Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, Wang X, Zhou L, Tong Y, Ren R, Leung KS, Lau EH, Wong JY, Xing X. Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus–infected pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:1199–207.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
Metadata
Title
Deciphering the role of Saliva in COVID 19: A global cross-sectional study on the knowledge, awareness and perception among dentists
Authors
Selvakumar Kritika
Sekar Mahalaxmi
N Srinivasan
Jogikalmat Krithikadatta
Publication date
01-12-2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Oral Health / Issue 1/2023
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-023-03152-2

Other articles of this Issue 1/2023

BMC Oral Health 1/2023 Go to the issue

Research

Salivary leukocyte esterase activity by SillHa is a risk indicator of periodontal disease

Research

Three-dimensional volumetric assessment of hard tissue alterations following horizontal guided bone regeneration using a split-thickness flap design: A case series

Research

Palatal approach for surgical removal of mesioangularly impacted maxillary third molar - a pilot study

Research

Does endodontics influence radiological detection of external root resorption? an in vitro study

Case Report

Maxillary gingival neurolemmoma: a case report and literature review

Research

The caries impacts and experiences questionnaire for Turkish children by age groups’