As a diagnostic medium, oral fluid had been neglected until recently. Oral fluid is now being systematically researched and the results of its analysis are being compared with other diagnostic media such as blood and urine. Saliva is being accepted as an excellent diagnostic medium and an indispensable tool in the field of diagnostics. We should look forward to the day when science will confirm the clinical applications of saliva for detection of dental caries and systemic diseases and to the time when dentists and organized dentistry will embrace salivary diagnostics and integrate it into clinical practice, thus advancing dentistry into primary health care.