Is buccal swab more reliable than blood samples for paternity testing?  Yes, they are. Buccal swabbing is an effective, quick, and painless DNA sample collection technique that involves rubbing a swab similar to a Q-tip against the inside of the cheek. The rubbing motion collects loose cheek cells, and these cells contain enough DNA for us in Paternity tests and other DNA tests. Paternity Web laboratories use this relatively non-traumatic method even at very young babies for sample collection.

One common misconception about buccal swabbing is that it’s a “saliva test.” Successful collection occurs when the swab contains many cheek cells, which may or may not be present in saliva. The key is to rub the cheeks, not just get the swab wet.  Almost all the paternity tests done in Paternity labs are performed with buccal swab sample.