How To Pass A Saliva Drug Test

As saliva drug test is becoming more popular nowadays due to its non-invasive nature and easy procedure, questions arise about ways to prevent detection of medicines and other unwanted substances in order to protect privacy of tested person.

1. Why saliva drug test is conducted?
2. What drugs it detects?
3. How far back does a saliva drug test go?
4. How accurate is it?
5. How is it conducted?
6. How to pass

Why saliva drug test is conducted?

The main advantage of saliva test is that it detects very recent and even current drug use. For example, urine test detects THC only after it was metabolized in liver, therefore, a certain amount of time is required to pass after marijuana use for its detection. In contradistinction to it, saliva test detects the THC itself, so can be conducted right after drug intake. This is very useful for roadside, post accident and workplace drug test. Except this, oral test is noninvasive, quick and easy to conduct.

What drugs it detects?

Saliva tests can detect almost any substance in your system, including alcohol and nicotine, but mostly they check for combination of 5-6 most common drugs, among which usually marijuana, opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, PCP and sometimes benzodiazepines are present.

How far back does a saliva drug test go?

The detection times in saliva may vary even for one particular drug depending on its amount and potency, as well as user’s age, weight, metabolism and other factors. Generally, saliva test detects marijuana during 24 hours, but in some cases it can go back for up to 4 days. For opiates this period is up to 2 days; 3 days for cocaine, meth, amphetamines and benzodiazepines, and up to 5 days for PCP.

Most drugs are usually detected in oral fluids during 2-4 days, so if you did not take any drug more than 4 days, you most likely will pass the test. Otherwise (or in case you just want to ensure result), you should prepare.

How accurate is it?

Nowadays mouth swab test is considered very accurate. For some drugs, such as meth and cocaine, it is even more sensitive that urine screening. False positive result is almost impossible, because every positive sample goes to laboratory for confirmation test that is done using very precise and technologically advanced equipment that detects drugs with 99% accuracy.

How is it conducted?

For this type of test the small amount of oral fluids is obtained from the user’s mouth. Unlike in other tests, such as urine or blood, the saliva sample collection procedure does not require special conditions, separate room and qualified staff. So, it can be done everywhere, for example right on workplace or on the road, and by anybody, for example by police officer.

The sample can be collected with the help of strip or mouth swab. The strip test is instant, because the strip itself is covered with antigen dyes that immediately change color, if drugs in saliva are present. It must be placed in user’s mouth and kept there until enough liquid is absorbed.

The swab test is conducted with the small plastic stick that has cotton swab at the end. The sample collector uses it to scrub inside the user’s mouth and sometimes can left it there for couple of minutes to collect enough fluids.

Modern saliva swab drug testing kits include simple tools for on-site analysis of the obtained fluid and interpretation of the result, so there is no need to send the sample to a laboratory. However, this may be required for a confirmation test, in case of positive result. The mouth swab test is more common nowadays than strip test.

How to pass

Preparing to saliva drug test is not easy because it is usually conducted in short notice, but every problem has a solution. If you have enough time, there are few measures you should take:

Before Test

1. Stop taking drugs. Obviously, this is the first thing you should do. The longer you abstain the lower concentration of toxins in your saliva and better chances to test negative you will have. Even nicotine and poppy seeds are not recommended to use as they can cause false-positive result in some cases.
2. Brush your teeth properly. Doing so helps remove drug traces from oral cavity. Focus on your gums, cheeks and tongue as these places are most common for taking samples by mouth swab.
3. Consume high fat meals. Try to do this about an hour before the saliva drug test as fat helps speed up the absorption of drugs in your body, thus lowering the concentration of toxins in mouth.
4. Drink water and chew ice. This important step not only keeps your mouth wet and accelerates fluid movement in it, but also dilutes your saliva and reduces the proportion of the drug metabolites in testing sample.
5. Use special detox mouthwash. If you know you’re going to get tested, bring a pocket-sized mouthwash with you and gargle about 20-30 minutes before the test. This powerful product will quickly and reliably cleanse your saliva from residues of drugs.

For Sudden Test

In case of a sudden mouth swab test you don’t have any time to prepare, so the only solution is to be ready constantly and carry detox mouthwash always in your pocket. Result is not guaranteed in this case, as it depends on tested drug and level of intoxication, but rinsing mouth with detox mouthwash 10-20 minutes before testing procedure will increase your chances of success significantly.

During Testing

During testing procedure just keep calm and do not draw any unnecessary attention to yourself. If possible, try to ignore all laboratory instructions and don’t help them prove your guilt. If you are allowed to swab your mouth yourself, avoid swabbing in-between the teeth and the gum lime.

The methods above are proven and effective to pass saliva drug test for sure, in case you follow them to the letter. But even if you didn’t have enough time to prepare, do not panic and never give up. Remember that about 5% of results of mouth swab tests are false-positive, so you have right to appeal and ask for confirmation test for which you can prepare much better.