Saliva drug testing is a simple, discreet way to perform drug abuse testing.  It does not have the embarrassment or biological hazard risks that urine specimen testing can have and eliminates the possibility of contamination, substitution, adulteration or manipulation of the test specimen.  There are 4 other methods that can be used to detect the presence of illegal drugs.  These include urine, hair, blood and perspiration tests (also called patch tests).

Saliva drug testing is somewhat more expensive than urine testing, but is less expensive than hair or blood, and usually costs between $15 and $75. Saliva testing is also considered a less intrusive procedure for drug testing when compared to urine tests or blood tests and are becoming even more common. The test subject feels more like they are being given a DNA test than an actual drug test. They are easy to administer, but require lab processing to ensure accurate results.

Other testing methods can detect more recent use but saliva drug testing is primarily used to detect use within a few days. There is no nationally accepted cutoff concentrations or accepted standards for detection making results

Saliva drug testing primarily detects use within the past few days, and can detect more recent use than other testing methods, but have no nationally accepted standards or cutoff concentrations for detection. This makes results significantly dependent on the choice of product purchased.  Standards can vary from brand to brand making results less acceptable and reliable if involved in legal cases. Being a weak point of the test, it can be subjugated in the legal system.

A more reliable testing for the detection of opiates and crystal methamphetamine is oral fluid testing.  However, this method of testing is less reliable for THC, the compound in marijuana.  THC affects the nervous system and gives marijuana its effects. On the other hand, the levels of sensitivity detection for saliva are greatly lower than levels for urine tests.  The detectable drug metabolites are significantly less in oral fluids than in urine due to the body's storage of metabolites in fat cells.  The metabolites are released into the bloodstream when fat is burned and are captured and filtered from the blood by the kidneys.  These concentrated metabolites and passed to the bladder (in the form of urine) where they are easily detected in a urinalysis.

There are definite advantages to using saliva drug testing for on-site screens because the collection of a urine specimen is not necessary.  The possibility of specimen tampering or substitution is entirely eliminated since the test subject is present for the complete collection and testing process. Additionally, it eliminates the possibility of cross contamination or accidental switching of specimens.

Oral fluid drug testing does not require the presence of a specially trained or highly skilled test administrator.  It is relatively uncomplicated for a medical assistant to administer to a test subject nor does it involve the need for a special facility to collect samples.  These tests can be performed entirely in an office or job site.

The price of saliva drug testing will become less expensive as this method of testing continues to gain popularity.