Sialadenitis | Medtick
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Sialadenitis

What is it?

When one is in severe pain and/or have breathing difficulties due to the swelling of the salivary glands.

  • These are the glands in the mouth, located near the ear (parotid), under the tongue (sublingual), and under the jaw bone (submaxillary), plus many small glands in the tongue, lips, cheeks and palate.

Diagnosis tests

Test Purpose
Clinical examination (main diagnostic method) Assesses painful swollen salivary gland, redness, tenderness, reduced saliva flow, fever, and pus from the salivary duct.
Salivary gland ultrasound (USG) First-line imaging; detects gland swelling, abscesses, stones (sialoliths), and duct obstruction.
CT scan of salivary glands Detects abscess formation, deep infection, stones, and complications; especially useful in acute infection.
MRI / MR sialography Evaluates soft tissue changes, chronic disease, and duct abnormalities.
Sialography Imaging of salivary ducts using contrast; used less commonly, mainly for chronic duct disorders.
Saliva or duct discharge culture Identifies bacteria causing infection and guides antibiotic choice.
Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) Obtains fluid or cells from a swollen gland; helps diagnose abscess, tumour, or unusual infections.
Complete blood count (CBC/FBC) May show increased white blood cells in bacterial infection.
C-reactive protein (CRP) and ESR Assess inflammation and infection severity.
Blood cultures Used if the patient has fever, sepsis, or severe systemic infection.
Autoimmune tests (e.g., ANA, anti-Ro/SSA, anti-La/SSB) Considered in chronic/recurrent sialadenitis, especially suspected Sjögren syndrome.

ChatGPT can make mistakes, the purpose of the table above to to show the diagnostic tests available only.

Cause

  • Small calcium stone that form in the glands (salivary gland stone) can block the salivary gland and cause inflammation.
  • The cause of stones maybe due to:
    • Dehydration, which then makes the saliva thick and less watery
    • Decreased food intake, which lowers the amount of saliva one needs
    • Medications that decrease saliva production and/or cause dry mouth
  • Infection may be caused by a virus or bacteria (Sialadenitis)
  • Mikulicz disease (IgG4-related dacryoadenitis and sialadenitis)
  • Küttner tumor ((IgG4-related submandibular disease) – a chronic inflammatory disease of the salivary gland

Symptoms

  • Dry mouth?
  • Dry eyes?
  • Swollen lymph glands?
  • Sore throat longer than seven days?
  • Hoarse throat?
  • Swelling and/or difficulty breathing/and/or pain in your mouth just thinking of food or before one eats?
  • Dull pain in your mouth that comes and goes?
  • When one eats or has finished causing swelling and/or pain at the back of throat and/or side of mouth below ear, or under the tongue (pain usually lasts 1 to 2 hours)?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:

  • Dehydration
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Trouble opening your mouth because of swelling
  • Cannot drink liquids instead are drooling excessively
  • Loose movement on one side of your face
  • Lump is growing and not going down
  • Symptoms have not improved after seeing a dentist/medical doctor or after a course of antibiotics.

This condition can lead to:

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

  • Tonsil stones (tonsilloliths) are small lumps that form in your tonsils.
    • Causes: Ones tonsils are filled with nooks and crannies where bacteria, dead cells and mucus, can get trapped. When this happens, the debris can bond together.
    • Tonsil stones form when this debris hardens, or calcifies.
    • See your dentist to remove such stones and follow good oral hygiene practice.
  • Dry mouth
  • Maffucci syndrome
  • Mikulicz syndrome
  • Mumps
  • Mouth cancer
  • Cysts (tiny fluid-filled sacs)
    • Babies sometimes are born with cysts in the parotid gland because of problems related to ear development before birth.
  • Benign tumours (noncancerous tumours)
    • Salivary (benign- not cancerous) gland tutors occur in the parotid gland.
    • Most common type of benign parotid tumour usually appears as a slow-growing, painless lump at the back of the jaw, just below the earlobe.
  • Malignant tumours (cancerous tumours)
  • Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC)
  • Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma
  • Proteus syndrome (Salivary gland tumour known as monomorphic adenoma and meningioma)
  • Sjogren’s syndrome
  • Sialadenosis
    • Sudden discomfort in the region of the salivary glands near the ear and jaws.
    • An unusually large flow of saliva may occur.
    • Outer ear sometimes appears distorted.
  • Salivary glands become enlarged without cause i.e. infection, inflammation or tumour.
  • Exostosis (Osteoma)
  • Frey syndrome
  • Madelung disease

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

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