Dear Dr Stoll,
I noticed a white deposit of something blocking the salivary gland under my tongue the other day. It gradually increased in size and the gland itself was inflamed and red. It did not give me any pain although it was extremely annoying as you can imagine! I awoke during the night last night to find a hard deposit of 'something' in my mouth and the deposit in the gland gone.
Could you confirm that this is a calculus and perhaps give me an idea of some of the causes....
Thanks very much.
Follow Ups:
Re: a calculus??
Posted by Walt Stoll on February 09, 1999 at 10:39:51:
In Reply to: a calculus?? posted by s on February 08, 1999 at 08:43:45:
Dear s,
This was a salivary stone (calculus) and it is not a very common (but not rare) occurance.
If it recurs, you should have your mineral balance checked because there might be a metabolic reason for such an uncommon thing to happen twice. Once, I wouldn't worry about.
The only reason your duct was inflammed is that any duct in the body that gets obstructed will inevitably get infected. If you had not passed the stone spontaneously (and thus relieved the blockage) you would have needed treatment.
Sometimes there is something wrong with the duct itself and simply dilating it will prevent recurrences. If it were me, and I had a recurrence, I would see a good dentist or ENT man in consultation.
Let us know what happens. Walt