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Summary

Your salivary glands are in your mouth. You have three pairs of major salivary glands and hundreds of small (minor) glands. They make saliva (spit) and empty it into your mouth through openings called ducts. Saliva makes your food moist, which helps you chew and swallow. It helps you digest your food. It also cleans your mouth and contains antibodies that can kill germs.

Problems with salivary glands can cause them to become irritated and swollen. You may have symptoms such as:

• A bad taste in your mouth
• Difficulty opening your mouth
• Dry mouth
• Pain in your face or mouth
• Swelling of your face or neck

Causes of salivary gland problems include infections, obstruction, or cancer. Problems can also be due to other disorders, such as mumps or Sjogren's syndrome.

Start Here

• Spit Happens: The Surprising Importance of Saliva (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Mouth Dryness or Thick Saliva (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Lacrimo-auriculo-dento-digital syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Parotid Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Salivary Gland Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Effectiveness of sialendoscopy for salivary gland occlusions.
• Article: Photobiomodulation therapy for salivary gland hypofunction: a preliminary human study.
• Article: Early life exposures and risk of salivary gland diseases in childhood:...
• Salivary Gland Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist) (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Also in Spanish

Children

• What's Spit? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Drooling (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Salivary duct stones (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Salivary gland infections (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Salivary gland tumors (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Sialogram (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish