A buccal smear test is also called the Sex chromatin test, a Buccal swab test is a test where cells are taken from the cheek and it is fast, non-invasive, relatively comfortable, and can yield larger sample sizes than other collection methods. Cells are collected by scraping the cheek with a cotton swab is the painless removal of a sample of cells from the inside of your mouth (cheek). The cells can be used for genetic testing, as well as evaluated for the presence of Barr bodies (a mass seen in a normal female sex chromosome) aneurism, microdeletion syndromes, and a variety of polymerase chains reaction-based molecular genetic tests. The buccal mucosa is the lining of the cheeks and the back of the lips, inside the mouth where they touch the teeth.
By far the most frequent buccal cell type in cheek swabs were the pink non-keratinous superficial squamous cells (mean 70.5% of epithelial cells in children and 73.9% in adults), followed by the orange keratinous superficial squamous cells (mean 27.6% of epithelial cells in children and 19.6% in adults) and the blue
How the Test is Performed
The health care provider will gently scrape the inside of the cheek with a small spatula to collect cells for testing. Sometimes, you can do this yourself.
How to Prepare for the Test
Rinse and wash the mouth as instructed. The way it works is that the swab collects sample cells from the inside of your cheek, which contain DNA information in the form of buccal epithelial cells. Buccal sample swabs are generally preferred by those looking for DNA testing because they’re much less invasive than a blood test
How the Test will Feel
You will feel a scraping sensation as cells are removed from the cheek.
Why the Test is Performed
This test is done to get cells for chromosome or DNA analysis, most often for genetic testing.
This test may also help establish sexual identity. When the test is used in this way, it’s called the sex chromatin test.
Risks
There are no risks.
FAQ