As described in a recent post, dental conditions are often hidden and painful. The following posts are going to help describe conditions that pets can get as well as treatment. Many people I talk with are surprised how we can help pets with dental conditions and save teeth whenever possible.
Accumulation of saliva or stones in the salivary ducts can occur due to trauma, foreign material, or infection. Many times these causes are unseen (and become termed idiopathic = unknown cause) and happen days to weeks earlier than the symptoms. Salivary duct stones (sialoliths) do not cause accumulation of saliva as seen in the image.
Surgical treatment is needed. The surgical approach can be a challenge and may not remove all of the salivary tissue as intended, though Main Street Dental Clinic and Animal Dentistry Referral Services have some ancillary techniques to treat these. Sometimes a second surgery is still needed.
Using the special techniques on a follow up surgery is less successful as anatomical landmarks are less visible hampering the outcome.
Contact us to learn more about salivary gland issues.
