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What is a Salivary Gland Stone?

Posted on 8/20/2018 by Janice K. Pliszczak, DDS

When you hear that a person has some type of stones in their body, you may think they are talking about kidney stones.

Unfortunately, there are other stones that can form in your body besides the kidney stones. It is also possible to form salivary gland stones. It is something more people need to learn about.

What are they
A salivary gland stone is a calcified material that forms in the salivary glands or duct. The most common place for these stones to form is on the floor of the mouth. They can also form in the cheeks or under the tongue, but this is not as common.

The stones form when chemicals found in saliva begin to accumulate. One of the chemicals is calcium. As more calcium accumulates the salivary gland stones form. While the exact cause of this happening is not known, there are some things that can contribute to their growth. These include dehydration, bad diet and some medications.

Problems and Treatment

Not all salivary gland stones cause problems. If they end up blocking a duct, it can cause some issues. The blocked ducts can cause swelling and pain. There will also be less saliva present in the mouth, which can lead to other problems.

Oral surgeons and dentists have a few options to treat salivary gland stones once they diagnose the problem. It is possible to massage the stone out of the duct if it is not too large. For larger stones, a small incision is made at the site to remove the sun.

One other procedure to remove the stone is a sialendoscopy, which uses lighted scopes to locate the stone and micro tools to remove them. If a person has repeated problems with the stones, or if the doctor cannot remove the stones, removal of the salivary gland is an option.

The best way to find out if you have a problem with salivary gland stones or if you want more information about it, contact the professionals at our offices for help.

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