Salivary stones
If the stone is very small and not blocking the duct, you may not realise you have it as there may not be any symptoms.
A larger stone may be visible when you open your mouth wide. If the stone is big enough to cause symptoms, these symptoms will usually continue until the stone falls out or is removed.
If the stone partially blocks the duct and stops some of the flow of saliva, you might have:
If the salivary gland is completely blocked, you may feel sudden, intense pain after you start eating at mealtimes.
This is usually followed by swelling, whicheases during the hours after a meal.
Swelling and pain happens because the saliva cannot exit the blocked duct, so it backs up and builds up in the gland.
NHS Choices information on salivary gland stones (calculi), with links to other useful resources
It's not known why salivary gland stonesform. There's usually no imbalance of calcium anywhere else in the body. The formation of a stone may be linkedto changes in the flow of saliva through the gla
Most salivary gland stones form in one of the submandibular glands you have two of these glands (one on each side) under the bottom of your mouth. The stone becomes lodged in the duct running from th
If the stone is very small and not blocking the duct, you may not realise you have it as there may not be any symptoms. A larger stone may be visible when you open your mouth wide. If the stone is bi
A GP may be able to see the stone when they examine your mouth. Otherwise, an X-ray would usually show it up. If the stone doesn't show up on X-ray, you may need one of the following more detailed s
Your GPmay attempt to free up the stone by probing your salivary duct with a thin, blunt instrument. If this doesn't work, you may need a procedure called a therapeutic sialendoscopy (mentioned above
Salivary stones are usually a one-off event and most people who develop one won't develop another again. If you're unlucky enough to develop another one, or develop a few at the same time, you may ne