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Mouth and Teeth
Benign Salivary Gland Tumors
Jun
Tumors are abnormal growths in your body. They can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren’t cancer. Malignant ones are. Benign tumors grow only in one place. They cannot spread or invade other parts of your body.
Tumors are abnormal growths in your body. They can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren’t cancer. Malignant ones are. Benign tumors grow only in one place. They cannot spread or invade other parts of your body. Even so, they can be dangerous if they press on vital organs, such as your brain.
Tumors are made up of extra cells. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as your body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place. Sometimes, this process goes wrong. New cells form when your body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can divide without stopping and may form a tumor.
Treatment often involves surgery. Benign tumors usually don’t grow back.
Around the mouth we find the salivary glands whose function is to produce saliva that through ducts leads to different areas of the mouth, protecting the teeth from decay and moistening the food, thus facilitating chewing and swallowing.
The main salivary glands are the parotid glands located in front of the ears in each cheek, two submandibular glands, and two sublingual glands located below the floor of the mouth.
When abnormal cells proliferate in the glands or salivary ducts, a tumor forms, the most common benign tumor affects the parotid gland, and its main characters are increases in size and slow growth. Salivary duct tumors are not very common.
The most common symptoms are the appearance of swelling in a salivary gland that increases in size, is painless and firm and paralysis of the facial nerve.
The following tests can confirm the diagnosis: sialogram, ultrasound, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance and biopsy of the salivary glands.
Treatment: Surgery to remove the affected salivary gland. If the tumor is benign, no other treatment is needed.
