Anyone had a mucocele removed?

[Sparky16]

The last couple of months I have had a little bump at the back of my mouth that sometimes swells after I've eaten, and then goes back to being flatter after a half hour. The only reason I discovered it is that sometimes after eating I would feel like I had a crumb or something stuck to the back of my mouth, and no amount of drinking more water would make it go away. After this happened a couple of times, I looked in the mirror and saw the bump. It doesn't always swell after eating, and I haven't seen a pattern of which foods cause it to swell yet. I can still see it when it isn't swollen, although I can't feel it like I can when it is swollen.

I went to the dentist, and he says he thinks it's a mucocele - basically a plugged salivary gland on the roof of my mouth. He referred me to an oral surgeon to have it removed, and I have a consultation tomorrow.

I'm not sure what to expect, and I'm more than a bit nervous. Has anyone had one of these removed before? What's the procedure like? I assume they send them off to pathology and you have to wait for results, similar to having a mole removed?

[Sparky16]

So I thought I would be able to answer my own question, but it turns out that after seeing the oral surgeon he doesn't think that it is large enough to warrant removal. Good news, I guess! :)

[AnxiousJamie]

Well in case you do have it removed, it’s no big deal. I had one removed on the roof of my mouth a couple of years ago. The numbing shot hurt the most. Then once your mouth wakes up it feels like maybe the way it feels when you’ve burned your mouth on hot food. It takes a couple of weeks to heal, but the pain eases fairly quickly.

[Sparky16]

Thanks, Jamie. That's what I had wondered, was how painful this would be and for how long. Do they put stitches in?

[AnxiousJamie]

I didn’t have stitches. It just closed on its own. I have a small scar but it doesn’t bother me at all.