Swollen saliva gland

[LeighT]

Hey guys.

So I've suffered with HA for a few years now but I thought I had it under control until about a fortnight ago when I woke up with a sore lump on my cheek opposite one of my upper molars. The tooth in question has a rather sharp edge and it obviously irritated what I think is my saliva gland. It took a few days for the pain and discomfort to subside.

Fast-forward two weeks and the bump still hasn't fully resolved. It's nowhere near as big as it was but it is still there. I made an appointment with my dentist today and I see her on the 24th of this month.

The reason I posted here is that I know I'm going to find it hard to keep a level head until then. I'm pretty sure it's just irritation but I had the usual thoughts running through my mind; 'It should have gone by now' or 'What if it's cancer.' This gland could have been this size to begin with but I'm not sure as the one on the opposite side of my mouth seems relatively flat.

Sorry for the long post guys, has anyone else experienced anything similar?

Thanks.

[PASchoolSyndrome]

I have something similar but near my bottom molar. It feels very hard, almost like a bone coming out of my lower, inner gum. I just noticed it maybe a couple of months ago, but it could have been there my entire life for all I know.

I have a dentist appointment this week just out of pure 6mo check up timing, so I'm going to ask him about it, but I really do think that it is just a normal variant of the mouth!

[LeighT]

Thank you for the reply. This swelling is actually on my cheek (realised I hadn't typed that into the original post.)

I think what you are describing is called a tori. I have the same think in the same place on the lower right side.

I think that we focus mayne a little too much on symmetry and we have to realise that not every part of our body is symmetrical.

[PASchoolSyndrome]

Ah I understand now! Well you are seeing a dentist which is always good! The good news is if it has already started to go down it's probably nothing to be too worried about! (:

Ah yes! I know I've heard something about those before! I've never been too concerned so when the reminder for my 6mo check up came I just made a mental note to ask him about it - thank you!

[LeighT]

Yeah I hope that's the case. I have no other symptoms that would indicate it's anything sinister but you know yourself how HA works!

Yeah it's always better to ask them, it would save you a lot of energy if you happened to think and worry about it in the future.

[Chris 614]

About ten days ago I had a salivary gland issue. My swelling was just below the ear and near the jawline. I also had weird pain up in the jaw area when I would eat. I ate some lemon candy...saw this online...and the swelling went down and the pain while eating went away. The lemon candy causes more saliva to be produced and can flush out any kind of obstruction apparently.

I went to the doctor anyway because...well...I have health anxiety and couldn't let it go. He felt it was some sort of salivary gland irritation that caused it. So far it hasn't happened again. He told me to stay well hydrated and eat lemon drops.

[LeighT]

Thanks for the reply Chris. I've tried a few things like you mentioned but nothing really worked. I'm not too concerned at the moment. I found a few older posts from other members that seem to be describing a very similar issue so this has calmed me a little.

I'm just looking forward to my appointment at the dentist and hopefully nipping this in the bud.

Thanks again.