Salivary calculus - World Class Holistic Homeopathy Treatment
MOUTH – Salivary calculus – Sialolith
Calculus is medically meant for any abnormal concretion of mineral salts
formed inside the body. ‘Sial’ refers to salivary gland and ‘Sialolith’ refers
to salivary gland calculus. Tendency to salivary calculus or formation of
salivary calculus is termed as ‘Sialolithiasis’. Stone formation can obstruct
the pathway and cause infection and pain in the glands. The obstruction can be
complete or partial.
Three pairs of salivary glands produce saliva persistently and dispense
them into the mouth
through ducts almost continuously, i.e., even at night time (during sleep)
to keep the mouth moist. Saliva constitutes mainly water, salts, electrolytes,
waste products of body (urea, uric acids, acetone, etc.) and epithelial cells.
It is the first digestive juice of the digestive tract which helps to breakdown
the food particles to get dissolved and digested easily. It also makes the food
bolus to swallow easily. Salivary calculus is a type of salivary gland disorder
where normal saliva flow is interrupted (partially or totally) to cause dryness
of mouth, pain in salivary gland with or without altered taste in the mouth.
Incidences
The incidence of stone formation in the salivary glands seems to be more in
males than females. The reason is unknown. The commonest age group which
suffers most frequently is 30-50. The salivary calculus is most commonly
seen in Wharton’s duct (draining duct of submandibular gland which opens to the
floor of the mouth). The stone formation in submandibular gland or duct is more
common because of its thick saliva and its draining way (i.e., against gravity)
compared to other glands (parotid and sublingual glands).
Causes
The major constituent of salivary calculus is calcium. Calculus commonly
forms in the glands and gets obstructed in the ducts. The exact reason why a
stone forms is really unknown. Anyhow, researchers can find out various factors
which can favour the formation of stones. They are:
·
Thick saliva – highly concentrated saliva (concentrated
more with calcium, mucin, magnesium , etc.) – may be because of dehydration or
super-saturation or salivary gland diseases.
·
Changes in saliva PH (saliva PH gets
altered in infections or diseases or tumours)
·
Saliva inadequate drainage – slowness in flow and stagnation with obstructive flow or in case of
infection, will encourage precipitation of salivary salts to form stones.
·
Symptoms
Many a time, most of the salivary stones remain asymptomatic. Usually,
symptoms occur when stone(s) happen to move and block a duct. Mostly stone(s)
do not block a duct completely. So there won’t be any need for emergency
attention. Even if it blocks completely, saliva from remaining glands cope up
with the need / digestion in the mouth. So complaints arise only when the
affected gland swells more drastically or gets infected. The common symptoms of
salivary calculus are:
·
Swelling of the affected gland(s) – usually follows more after food intake or while chewing since additional
amount of saliva is often produced in salivary glands to break down the intake
of food materials in the mouth. Swelling may be persistent or vary in size from
time to time.
·
Pain – occurs mostly because of swelling and pressure. So, as
like swelling, which increases after
food or taking citrus fruits (which
induces more saliva production / flow and swelling), pain also increases with
food intake or taking citrus fruits.
·
Dryness of mouth (occasionally) – due to lack of saliva
·
Halitosis – due to drying of thick saliva
·
Altered taste in mouth
·
Diagnosis
Perfect diagnosis can be made from
·
Clinical examination
·
Radiological imaging studies with the help of X-rays /
ultrasound / CT or MRI scans
·
Sialoangiography – radiography of duct after injecting
radio opaque materials.
·
Sialoendoscopy can aid for diagnosis as well as for
removal
·
Chemical analysis of calculus (which have been expelled
on their own or removed by surgery) can provide a clue in identifying the
underlying causative factor and can aid in preventing it in future.
Complications
·
Chronic infections
·
Recurrence of stones
·
Fibrosis of the gland
Preventive measures and management
Drink
·
Plenty of water – good hydration often helps to ease the
condition and further helps to stop stone formations
Avoid
·
High sources of calcium diets – meat, dairy products,
cheese, poultry, fish, calcium supplements, ice creams, chocolates, tea.
·
Citrus fruits like orange, lemon, tomato, etc. – These
items can increase saliva production, which in-turn can cause swelling and pain
in the blocked gland.
General treatment
Treatment varies depending on size
and location of the stone. Rarely, stone gets expelled on its own into the
mouth. Otherwise sialolithotomy (removal of salivary calculus) will be tried
with any of the following according to the condition:
·
Lithotripsy (shock wave treatment) – to break stones to expel them easily in parts.
·
Sialoendoscopy can aid in removal – if necessary, (in
case of big stone whose size exceeds the duct size) intracorporeal lithotripsy
aid can also be sought for breaking stones to force easy removal.
·
Sialolithectomy – total removal of gland will be advised
in case of multiple stones or recurrent infections.
·
Intraoral open surgery to remove obstructed (big
and adhered) stone.
In case of salivary stones, Allopathy mostly directs everyone to opt for
surgical solution. Allopathy mode of treatment mostly prescribes a course
of antibiotics with analgesics during the initial,infective and painful
condition i.e. for temporary palliation / to ease the condition and then simply
go for elective surgery to avoid an emergency surgery in future. The
advantageous endoscopic surgery without scar and minimal hospital stay makes
every patient opt for removal of salivary calculus by surgical option.
Homoeopathic approach
These days, people keep worrying about their health and go for surgery
sometimes even unnecessarily. Even for minor ailments, they get admitted to a
hospital to rule out all (?) risk factors. Removing just stones or the salivary
gland cannot be taken as elimination of the whole disease since stones are only
the effects of the disease and not the disease itself. So, the stone-forming
tendency will be there in the body and the disease will move or proceed to
other places/parts. The best way to stop occurrence/recurrence of stones is to
treat the condition and to prevent the formation of stones in future.
Calculus formation in salivary glands, like renal stones/gall stones, can
arise to form tendencies. Homoeopathic medicine can stop this stone-forming
tendency by enforcing salivary gland to work properly and more efficiently, so
that it can produce good quality (composition) saliva and have good flow.
Homeopathy treats patient with its constitutional approach considering the
characteristic symptoms of the patient and the disease. Surgery can be avoided
in many cases of salivary stones if one follows homeopathic medicines regularly
for the prescribed period as per the direction of the Homeopath but in advanced
conditions, where stone is enormously large and adhered, surgery may be the
only way.
Simply put, the earlier you treat, you get easy, speedy and complete cure.
There are many drugs in Homoeopathy which can help relieve pain, expel stones
and associated complaints. The most commonly used homeopathic drugs in case of
salivary calculus are Alumen, Apis mel, Ars alb, Baryta mur, Belladona, Beri
beri vulgaris, Borax, Bryonia, Calcarea Carbonica, Cantharis, China,
Colocynthis, Hydrastis, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Mag phos, Nat Sulph, Nux mos, Nux
Vom, Pulsastilla, etc. These medicines should be taken under the advice and
diagnosis of a Qualified Homeopath.
for
new hope
Dr. S. Chidambaranathan, BHMS, MD (Homeo)
Laxmi Homeo Clinic
24 E. New Mahalipatti Road
Madurai, TN 625 001
India
Tel: +91-984-319-1011 (Mob /
Whatsapp)
E-mail: drcheena@gmail.com
(Disclaimer: The
contents of this column are for informational purpose only. The content is not
intended to be a substitute for professional healthcare advice, diagnosis, or
treatment. Always seek the advice of healthcare professional for any health
problem or medical condition.)