# I have spit stones. Ya know, like kidney stones only in my face. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558 "2009-05-15T19:28:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/1 "2009-05-15T19:28:27Z")
Weird, isn’t it? You are no doubt wondering what the hell I’m talking about. Well, every once in a while I will eat or drink something and a very strange sensation happens on the left side of my face, down near my jaw hinge. If I continue to eat or drink, the sensation, which isn’t pain, intensifies. (It’s kinda tingly pressure, if that makes the slightest bit of sense) If I persist in eating or drinking, the sensation becomes really intense AND…my cheek swells right at that spot. This has been happening to me for years and decades ago my doctor explained to me that it is “saliva stones”. Like a kidney stone, there’s some kind of buildup of minerals or SOMETHING, I really don’t remember exactly, but what happens is that there is a little stone or grit or bit of solid matter of some kind in my saliva gland on the left side of my face that blocks the saliva from being injected into my mouth as it would normally be when I bite into whatever food I’m eating. So my gland generates the saliva, but it doesn’t get out, and that’s the weird sensation. If I continue eating, my gland continues producing, and it continues to be trapped behind the little “spit stone” blocking the exit. And if I do it long enough, the backed-up saliva become visible as a bulge low on my cheek near the jaw hinge. Does anyone else suffer from this? And I don’t mean “suffer” really, it’s never become a genuine problem, it’s just weird. And I’ve never met anyone else who has (knowingly) experienced this. And perhaps I have now caused a series of light bulbs to go off in a few minds of people who have had this sensation but never inquired into what it might be because it wasn’t that big a deal. And now I have given you the answer. You’re welcome. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/2 "2009-05-15T19:29:39Z")
Silly me. It’s 2009. “[Sialoliths](http://www.simplestepsdental.com/SS/ihtSS/r.WSIHW/st.32219/t.34882/pr.3.html)”! Cool name! Calcium phosphate and carbon. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/3 "2009-05-15T19:32:06Z")
Gee, they make it sound way scarier than my experience has been. I’ve had these things happen ever since I was a kid and it was never a big deal… jeepers. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/4 "2009-05-15T21:05:20Z")
Is that what that is?!?!?!?!!?! It’s been happening to me for years. No one I’ve asked about it would even admit that it was happening, much less that it had an explanation. Thanks, **Stoid**! ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/5 "2009-05-16T00:15:13Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Is that what that is?!?!?!?!!?! > > It’s been happening to me for years. No one I’ve asked about it would even admit that it was happening, much less that it had an explanation. Thanks, **Stoid**! You’re welcome! But “admit”? Did you explain it and people told you you were crazy? And it sure is weird, isn’t it? How would you have described the sensation? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/6 "2009-05-16T04:49:50Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > And it sure is weird, isn’t it? How would you have described the sensation? Uh oh, I think I can relate to this too. Does it kind of feel like you’re being stung by lots of tiny little insects in that spot? It doesn’t exactly _hurt_, but it’s not pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/7 "2009-05-16T05:10:46Z")
Yeah, it’s kinda like that. And pressure. There is an echo of it when you bite into something ultra-sour. I think that the glands react so intensely to that, the initial instant of sensation is something everyone has, and it’s like that, only longer and more intense, with pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f0a364/32.png) [@Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Quack_s_Echo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/8 "2009-05-16T07:20:06Z")
I’ve been getting these salivary stones for thirty-five years. The very first time it happened I went to the Dr and she diagnosed them correctly. I was told to massage the salivary duct until I massaged the tiny stone out. I was actually trained in the technique until the Dr was sure that I could do it right. Mine is a bit different in that the swelling is quite extreme and very, very painful. I have to stop eating and start massaging until either I get the stone out or I release enough spittle from the swelling backup to resume eating. It’s not just the sublingual and submandibular salivary glands, I also get stones in the cheek salivary glands. These are more intensely painful and very hard to massage out. Finally, the stones are due to minerals in your diet, particularly in your drinking water. Of course, the way you process the minerals is peculiar to you so not all people are susceptible to salivary stones, though it’s common enough where the minerals are present in the drinking water. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/9 "2009-05-16T08:23:54Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > You’re welcome! > > But “admit”? Did you explain it and people told you you were crazy? > > And it sure is weird, isn’t it? How would you have described the sensation? Well, I remember once someone said my food must be too spicy. I don’t do spicy, so I knew it wasn’t that, and then they said it must be too hot. Which it also wasn’t. Actually, this person was a Doper-league arguer. Another time, I have to admit now that my explanation was wrong. I thought, and said, it was a matter of the space where my wisdom teeth used to be was super-sensitive. Obviously, that’s not it, so this person was right when they denied that. But I wonder if that might have something to do with it after all. I don’t remember this ever happening before I had my wisdom teeth out. Perhaps the space that was freed up has allowed my saliva glands greater access to the grit that creates the stones. As for describing it, I’d compare it to the way your foot feels when it “wakes up” after having gone numb. It usually passes on after a minute or two of not eating, and massaging the jaw hinges. ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/10 "2009-05-16T10:20:03Z")
Oh, I’ve had permanent ones for a decade. At least half a dozen. Feel like marbles in my face. Whenever I get a new dentist, they confuse him. I wish I could massage them out, but mine would require surgery. I hate the buggers. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/11 "2009-05-17T16:29:47Z")
> [@Elyanna](#): > > Oh, I’ve had permanent ones for a decade. At least half a dozen. Feel like marbles in my face. Whenever I get a new dentist, they confuse him. I wish I could massage them out, but mine would require surgery. I hate the buggers. Reading up on these, it looks like some of them can be broken up ultrasonically. Have you already tried that option? ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/12 "2009-05-17T18:19:53Z")
Darn. That site is down for maintenance now. Never had what you describe but I do get a salivary duct in my mouth kind of clogged up. It’s like there’s a clear pimple that periodically shows up in my mouth inside my cheek. I bust it with fingernail (clean, washed hands). Sometimes it comes back again next day, sometimes it stays away for a while. My dentist told me what it was and to not worry about it. As opposed to the thing that was white-ish and he removed and was biopsied. Turned out to be nothing but you should have everything like that checked out anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DotVernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cab0a1/32.png) [@DotVernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DotVernon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/13 "2013-03-21T07:38:07Z")
I ended up going to hospital as I woke up Saturday morning with my tongue and face swollen so bad I could not talk. I never heard of a saliva gland stone - I was put on drip antibiotic - they did not want me to have trouble breathing - I am suppose to go back Monday for surgery HOWEVER while at Doctor today I thankfully used a tissue as I am suppose to keep “clearing” throat - would you believe there was a stone in the tissue - would never had seen it if I hadn’t used the tissue - ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/14 "2013-03-21T13:50:13Z")
I had a gland removed because of salivary stones blocking one gland about ten years ago. It would swell up like a frog and was hard to breathe. Haven’t had a problem since then. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/15 "2013-03-21T15:05:54Z")
My wife gets them, and quite often they swell up the entire lower side of her face. Her doctor recommended that she suck on some sour candies, to encourage saliva production. Seems to work. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/16 "2013-03-22T19:21:32Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > My wife gets them, and quite often they swell up the entire lower side of her face. Her doctor recommended that she suck on some sour candies, to encourage saliva production. Seems to work. Dang… when I have them (and I haven’t in a very, very long time) triggering more saliva is not a good plan! But everyone’s a speshul snowflake… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/17 "2013-03-24T02:03:41Z")
Ughhh why did I just google that :(…For some reason they creep me out moreso than tonsil stones. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/18 "2013-03-24T03:04:01Z")
Tonsil stones? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/19 "2013-03-24T03:06:59Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Tonsil stones? [Enjoy!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tonsillolith_in_mouth.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-spit-stones-ya-know-like-kidney-stones-only-in-my-face/496558/20 "2013-03-24T05:42:38Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Reading up on these, it looks like some of them can be broken up ultrasonically. Have you already tried that option? That procedure is known as “lithotripsy.” Far out! 😃 My husband gets these also. Men are more prone - about one in a hundred. That’s a pretty high figure. Funny we don’t hear more about it. _Shambles away in pursuit of brains_