MED INSIDER–DR RIA MASLOG

Salivary Glands

Our salivary glands are very important because they make saliva that helps moisten food for easy swallowing. However, salivary glands may have some disorders that may be developmental, functional, traumatic, infectious or neoplastic.

The common salivary gland disorders are:
1. Acute inflammation  of the salivary glands and their ducts which include: oral sepsis may lead to an infection of the submaxillary or sublingual glands; septic parotitis due to inflammation  of the parotid gland may also occur; 

2. Foreign bodies and stones in the glands and ducts – the common foreign bodies are salivary calculi, seeds and small toothbrush bristles where the patient may have pain which increases during meals or at the sight of food; 

3. Mumps; 

4. Mikulicz’s disease – this is a chronic symmetrical enlargement of the lacrimal and salivary glands caused by replacement of the glandular tissue by lymphoid cells; there is an absence of tears and saliva; maybe seen in tuberculosis, leukemia and lymphosarcoma; 

5. Tumors – most tumors of the salivary glands occur in the parotid gland and are uncommon in infants and children.

Benign tumors include: 

  • Hemangiomas
  • Papillary cystadenoma
  • Lymphomatosum (Warthin tumor)
  • Lymphangiomas – malignant tumor includes:
     Mucoepidermoid carcinoma

6. Xerostomia – this is the medical term for dry mouth and is characterized by almost complete absence of the salivary secretions; this condition may be seen in diabetes, vitamin B complex deficiency, psychic influence or irradiation

7. Ptyalism ( Sialorrhea) – this is the term for excessive secretion of the salivary glands; this is seen in stomatitis, used of mercury and iodides and psychic stimuli