How Accurate Are Saliva Testosterone Tests (Can I Trust It?)

Saliva testosterone tests work by detecting the amount of testosterone present in your saliva, also known as salivary testosterone.

From this measurement, you can estimate the amount of testosterone in the rest of the body.

Testosterone is present in two main ways within your blood.

Free testosterone is unbound and readily available to cells.

The second way it is present in the blood is when it is attached to another compound.

For example, testosterone can bind to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHGB).

Unbound testosterone can diffuse from your blood vessels into your saliva, while testosterone attached to cells that carry it where it is needed is too large to diffuse [1].

That said, saliva testing will tell you the amount of testosterone that has diffused into your saliva but cannot give you information on testosterone that is bound or used in your body.

Saliva samples provide a non-invasive method for measuring salivary testosterone levels, allowing for convenience and ease of collection compared to traditional blood tests.

Saliva testosterone tests offer insight into the unbound fraction of testosterone that has diffused into saliva, which indirectly indicates bioavailable testosterone.

It is important to note that while saliva testing can assess the portion of testosterone in saliva, it cannot provide information on the bound or utilized testosterone within the body.

The salivary testosterone test offers a convenient method for monitoring testosterone levels in research and clinical settings.

Blood testing can tell you the amount of testosterone in your body with a high degree of accuracy.

It will also account for bound testosterone, which saliva testing cannot detect.

Additionally, blood testing is accurate and thorough enough to give you a diagnosis if something is wrong so that you may begin to understand treatment options.

Saliva tests are a good option if you want a basic understanding of your hormone levels.

For example, if you are trying a testosterone booster and want to understand how effective it has been or if you want to know if you have an extreme hormone imbalance.

Salivary hormone analysis will give you the necessary information to determine your next steps.

For diagnostic purposes, a doctor will likely take a blood sample.

What Are the Symptoms of Low Testosterone?

The symptoms of low testosterone are reduced libido, lower muscle mass, reduced strength, increased body fat, low mood, and fatigue [2].

Low testosterone is also associated with an increased risk of:

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Osteoporosis [3]

While men and women share the majority of the symptoms associated with low testosterone, women are also at risk of hirsutism, a condition that causes excessive body hair.

You should talk to a healthcare provider as soon as possible if you believe you may have low testosterone levels, either because you are exhibiting symptoms or because of saliva test results.

Observations gathered in our Fountain TRT review also emphasize the importance of professional consultation.

There is no cure for chronic testosterone deficiency, but treatment is available.

You may need hormone replacement therapy, or more specifically, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) [4, 5].

In many cases, you can regulate your hormone levels at home with diet changes, increased exercise, or natural testosterone boosters.

“There may be certain lifestyle changes to help increase testosterone levels, such as adding resistance exercise and losing weight.”
– Joseph Brito III, M.D. urologist at Yale Medicine