OrisDX was recently featured in an NPR report on the future of saliva diagnostics. The article highlights a shift we’ve been championing since our inception: the evolution of the dental office from a place for fillings and cleanings to a frontline hub for life-saving cancer diagnostics.
For too long, the standard for oral cancer screening hasn’t changed. As our CEO, Harald Steltzer, shared with NPR, the "look and feel" method has remained virtually stagnant for a century. But at OrisDX, we believe that in 2026, "looking" isn't enough.
The core of our mission is solving a "high unmet need." Oral cancer is often a silent threat, hiding beneath the surface until it reaches an advanced stage. By the time a dentist can see a lesion with the naked eye, the window for early intervention may have already narrowed.
Our test detects the genetic fingerprint of cancer via a saliva rinse. Rather than waiting for visible symptoms, our test, launching this April, detects molecular signatures of squamous cell head and neck cancers with 93% reliability. We're not just looking at the mouth. We're reading it.
While the science is ready, the healthcare system is still catching up. The NPR piece rightly identifies the two main barriers to widespread adoption: regulatory "gold standards" and insurance coverage. We are encouraged by recent legislative momentum, such as the congressional mandate for Medicare to cover FDA-approved multi-cancer detection tests. While OrisDX currently operates through a high-complexity CLIA-certified lab, we are fully committed to the path of FDA validation. We believe that life-saving technology shouldn't be a luxury; it should be a standard of care covered by insurance and accessible to everyone who sits in a dental chair. This is why we've built reimbursement pathways to help patients access testing without prohibitive out-of-pocket costs and why we're actively pursuing FDA approval to unlock insurance coverage at scale.
The dentist's office is the perfect venue for this revolution. Patients visit their dentists with a regularity that primary care doctors rarely see. By bringing ultrasensitive saliva diagnostics into the dental office, we're transforming a routine checkup into a proactive, potentially life-saving screening without adding friction to visits patients are already making.
Our April launch is approaching. If you're a dentist interested in offering this test, or a patient who wants to learn more, we'd love to connect. And if you want the full context, read the full NPR article here. Then come back and tell us what you think.