Most people know what salivary glands are, and they usually aren’t something that we think about. But if something goes awry, then we’ll notice this quickly. Our salivary glands are used to chew, swallow, speak to others, and also wash out the food that’s on our teeth. The submandibular gland swelling is associated with infection, dry mouth, and most other conditions. Burt, most of the causes of this are easy to treat.
What the Submandibular glands are
They’re basically two walnut-sized glands on each part of your face, right in front of the curve near the lower jaw, at the back part of the mouth. Along with the salivary glands, the glands here provide saliva, which contain different enzymes that’ll break down minerals and food, reducing the damage of acids and food on the enamel of the tooth. Saliva also makes food that you chew nice and wet, along with easy for you to swallow too.
Causes of the Swelling
If you feel some kind of swelling under the lower portion of the jaw, this could be known as swollen submandibular glands. Swollen glands are caused usually by small stones that block the ducts, and those that channel saliva into the mouth. These stones can be made through saliva, especially when you’re dehydrated.
When stones block salivary glands, this is known as sialolithiasis, which is where you have pain and swelling in that gland. While not totally known, this is associated with gout and liver disease.
According to The Journal of Medical research, sialolithiasis is one of the most common types of salivary gland diseases, and the submandibular gland is usually affected in about 83% of different cases.
The infections usually come from ducts that are blocked. In most of these cases, the swelling is accompanied by pus and redness too.
Salivary gland swelling also happens when you have a tumor. This can be caused by both non cancerous and cancerous tumors, and the glands might be firmer due to this infection.
Cancerous tumors tend to be much harder to fix and they usually are stuck to the tissue of the gland. However, tumors that aren’t cancerous might be removable.
Talk to your dentist if you have this, so that you can get an effective treatment.
The Treatment for Swollen Salivary Glands
The treatment does vary based on the severity of this. earl/y treatment will save you from developing infections.
According to the national health service, you do want to increase the production of saliva through chewing gum and drinking tons of water. You can also massage the stone in order to dislodge this.
If you can’t treat this at home, push the stone out through the submandibular gland, at your doctor’s office, and they use a small instrument to do this. In the rare case that it’s stuck, they may need to use surgery to get this out. If you do have a condition that causes you to develop this, getting treatment early will help with reducing the risk of developing this.
If you do have an infection here, a doctor can prescribe some kinds of antibiotics, and also get any pus joust, especially if there is an abscess. Swelling caused by tumors, however, must be treated with surgery. Cancerous tumors need to be treated right away and do require minoring. If it’s painful, you can use a warm compress on the gland area directly, and also rinse out the mouth with water in order to help with the discomfort. Overall, make sure that you watch your water, and avoid smoking to prevent this formation.
