Going to the dentist may be changing in a big way.

If you're like me, what you may remember most about your visits to dentists over the years is how they have to make repeated forays into your personal space to perform good deeds in your mouth. Pretty soon, however, thanks to recent research advances, your dentist will be getting even more personal - by also checking you for signs of breast cancer.

Please relax: The dentist isn't exactly going to be giving you a breast exam.

Here's the scoop: Scientists are developing a saliva test that dentists will be able to use to screen patients for breast cancer. This test will, it is hoped, be able to check saliva for certain proteins whose presence indicates breast cancer, thus giving women a priceless early warning. Thus far, although based on a small population of women, the study results look promising.

The Dental Division of the University of Texas is conducting this research and it's clever! I think it was smart to go the dental route, since studies have shown that women are more apt to see their dentist a couple of times a year than they are to visit a mammography technician for their annual mammogram.

Saliva analysis has been used in the past to monitor patient response to chemotherapy and to surgical treatment. It only makes sense to also consider what else saliva may be able to tell us about breast cancer.

So the next time you think about getting your teeth cleaned, you might also ask your dentist about how this research is progressing.

Now, if we can also get the dentists to throw in a blood pressure check and a quick eye exam, then maybe in the future your "upper half" can be given a clean bill of health right along with your teeth!