Salivary gland stones

About salivary gland stones

Most stones appear below your tongue in one of the tubes (glands) supplying saliva to your mouth. You can't always see them.

Stones are white or pale and feel hard.

They vary in size, but most are about as big as a pea.

The stones may cause:

• dull pain in your mouth that comes and goes
• swelling in your mouth that flares up from time to time
• an infection around the stone

If you feel intense pain during mealtimes, this could mean the stone is blocking a saliva gland. The pain usually lasts 1 to 2 hours.

Things you can try yourself

You can try to free the stone by doing things to increase saliva production, such as:

• sucking on a lemon or lemon drops
• drinking plenty of water
• gently massaging around the stone

Don't use a sharp instrument to remove the stone as this could cause injury and infection.

If you have pain and swelling:

• take paracetamol or ibuprofen
• suck ice cubes or ice lollies

The symptoms won't go away until the stone has been removed.

When to see your GP

You should see your GP if:

• you're unable to remove the stone yourself
• the stone has caused an infection – signs include pain, redness or pus around the stone, and a high temperature (you feel hot and shivery)

Treatment to remove the stones

Your GP may try to gently remove the stone.

If that's not possible, you may need to have the stone removed in hospital.

You can't always prevent salivary gland stones

It's not clear what causes salivary gland stones, so there's no way to prevent them.

They're not generally linked with any other health problems.

Salivary stones don't usually come back. But if you keep getting them you might be advised to have one of your salivary glands removed.

More useful links

• How to use your health services