Salivary stones can be quite distressing, especially when it first happens as many sufferers quite understandably attribute it to something more sinister.
However, salivary stones are not usually associated with any other disease and they are not indicative of abnormal calcium levels in the body.
Around one in 100 people have salivary stones, although most people don’t have any problems with them, and often don’t even know they’ve got them.
They are probably more common than we think because unless they are particularly large they won’t be picked up by routine dental radiographs.
It is not entirely clear why they form, but we know that saliva is rich in mineral salts including calcium.
If these salts start to calcify, a little stone can form which will grow at a rate of about 1mm a year until it blocks the gland, causing pain and swelling whenever excess saliva is produced, such as at mealtimes….Read More
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