Khade D M, Bhad W A, Chavan S J, Muley A, Shekokar S. Reliability of salivary biomarkers as skeletal maturity indicators: A systematic review. Int Orthod 2022; 21: 100716.

Salivary biomarkers can be used as an adjunct for growth prediction during orthodontic treatment planning along with other methods of skeletal maturation assessment.

This study assessed the reliability of different salivary biomarkers as skeletal maturity indicators when compared with other methods of skeletal maturity assessment. A comprehensive search was conducted on three key electronic databases from 2000 to July 2021. Assessment of skeletal age on the basis of levels of different salivary biomarkers at different pubertal stages was considered as the primary outcome. A total of 158 articles were retrieved, of which 15 were selected for qualitative synthesis. All these studies were cross-sectional in design. These studies compared the levels of different salivary biomarkers such as Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), Insulin-like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I), Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein-3 (IGFBP-3), Cortisol, Indian Hedgehog (IHH) protein and Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) with other methods of skeletal age estimation. Out of these six biomarkers, salivary IGF-1 is a reliable indicator for skeletal maturity assessment. The authors emphasise the need for further research with longitudinal studies in this field.