It depends on your medication schedule. If you are on systemic antibiotics as pre-procedural medication or chronic medical conditions, you do not have to wait before saliva collection. However, if you use any over-the-counter oral care products, you will need to wait at least 30 minutes since your last application to give a sample. Similarly, there is a required wait time of 24 hours for patients using prescription-strength antimicrobial or antibiotic rinses and a two-week wait time for patients who have undergone dental procedures that disrupt the biofilm. Patients taking local antibiotics must also wait four weeks to give a saliva sample, and patients undergoing systemic antibiotics for acute conditions must wait for six.