Oral Fluids as Diagnostic Windows: Monitoring Cardiometabolic and Systemic Health in Precision Medicine

Oral fluids, and saliva in particular, have increasingly attracted attention as valuable sources of biological information that reflect not only oral conditions but also systemic health. While saliva has traditionally been considered mainly in the context of oral functions such as lubrication, digestion, and protection of dental tissues, it is now recognised as a complex biofluid that mirrors a wide range of physiological and pathological processes occurring throughout the body. Recent advances in molecular biology, proteomics, metabolomics, and microbiome research have demonstrated that saliva contains numerous biomarkers related to inflammation, metabolic regulation, immune activity, vascular biology, and tissue repair - processes that are central to cardiometabolic health.At the same time, the shift toward precision medicine has created strong demand for minimally invasive, readily accessible diagnostic tools suitable for repeated measurements over time. In this context, saliva sampling offers clear advantages compared to blood-based diagnostics. It is non-invasive, stress-free for patients, and can be collected frequently in clinical settings, at home, or in point-of-care environments. Furthermore, rapid developments in biosensor technology, artificial intelligence, and digital health platforms are creating new opportunities for real-time analysis and personalised monitoring of salivary data, including for cardiometabolic risk profiling and longitudinal monitoring.Despite these promising developments, the clinical implementation of salivary diagnostics remains limited and fragmented. Key challenges include the lack of standardised sampling protocols, the need for robust biomarker validation, and the integration of salivary data into established clinical decision-making pathways. Addressing these issues requires close interdisciplinary collaboration among dentistry, medicine, engineering, and data science, particularly when translating oral-fluid measures into clinically meaningful tools for cardiometabolic prevention, screening, and management. The aim of this Research Topic is to explore the use of oral fluids as non-invasive tools for monitoring chronic conditions characterized by metabolic and inflammatory dysregulation. While we maintain a core focus on cardiometabolic health, we encourage contributions that investigate the broader systemic landscape, including the links between oral health and neurodegenerative conditions like dementia or other chronic metabolic disorders. By focusing on these shared pathways, we hope to advance the role of salivary biomarkers in multi-organ health monitoring and precision medicine. By fostering dialogue across disciplines, encouraging methodological harmonisation, and promoting translational approaches, this collection aims to strengthen the evidence base for oral-fluid diagnostics and to support their integration into precision medicine and personalised cardiometabolic healthcare.We invite research that focus on novel salivary biomarkers, analytical methods, and clinical applications of oral fluids within the context of Cardiometabolic Health. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:1. salivary biomarkers associated with cardiometabolic conditions and risk profiling, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome, as well as related inflammatory and metabolic pathways,2. the mechanistic and clinical links between oral disease and cardiometabolic outcomes, including shared risk factors, bidirectional associations, and pathways linking oral inflammation with systemic metabolic regulation,3. saliva-based assessment of inflammation, wound healing, and oral biofilm dynamics in relation to cardiometabolic status,4. the application of new diagnostic tools and creation of large database will help utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to for prediction, phenotyping, and monitoring of cardiometabolic health using saliva,5. the development of point-of-care and home-based biosensing technologies, including smart oral devices or mobile platforms,6. standardisation of saliva collection, processing, and analysis methods to improve reproducibility, comparability, and clinical utility, and7. translational studies that connect oral health with cardiometabolic risk, prevention strategies, and clinical decision-making.We particularly welcome interdisciplinary contributions involving dental researchers, clinicians, biomedical engineers, and data scientists. Submissions that demonstrate clear clinical relevance, methodological rigor, and potential for real-world application - especially in cardiometabolic screening, monitoring, and personalized care pathways - will be especially encouraged. Topic editors: Pune Nina Paqué, Mateusz Maciejczyk Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84781/oral-fluids-as-diagnostic-windows-monitoring-cardiometabolic-and-systemic-health-in-precision-medicine