Oral fluid toxicology is the process of testing saliva for legal and illegal substances and their metabolites. Oral fluid, or saliva, is the excreted from the parotid, submaxillary, and sublingual glands in the mouth. This form of drug screening is the least invasive form of testing as it requires a simple mouth swab for analysis. Medical professionals use oral fluid drug testing to evaluate recent drug use in patients.
Oral fluid is collected using a collection device (typically a swab) and sent to Harvest Labs to be evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay microplate technology for initial testing. This method allows laboratories to detect recent drug use that urine toxicology may miss. If a positive result is found, the laboratory will perform a confirmation screening using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS).
Testing oral fluid allows providers early detection drug screening with greater accuracy as it is difficult to cheat or falsify an oral fluid test. The specimen is processed quickly allowing little opportunity for sample tampering. The procedure for collection expedites the testing process making it quick and easy to do anywhere.