You should see a doctor for any cyst that appears in or around your mouth. You should also see a doctor if the cyst becomes large and uncomfortable. Though most mucous cysts are less than 1 centimeter in diameter, rare cases can result in cysts as large as 3. Smaller, painless cysts are often not detected until you go to the dentist. This is especially true of mucous cysts that develop inside your mouth.
Your dentist may refer you to a medical doctor for a biopsy and other diagnostic tests. In most cases, your doctor will let a mucous cyst heal on its own. If the cyst is still there after two months, see your doctor again. Doctors rely on clinical symptoms for diagnosis. Your doctor may also ask if you have a history of trauma associated with lip biting. Your answer will help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis.
In certain cases, a biopsy of the cyst may be needed to make a positive diagnosis. During this procedure, your doctor will remove a small tissue sample. The tissue will be examined with a microscope. By looking at the cells, doctors can determine if the cyst is cancerous or not. Treatment is based upon the severity of the mucous cyst. Sometimes cysts may not require treatment and will heal on their own over time.
Superficial cysts often resolve on their own. To prevent infection or tissue damage, do not try to open or remove cysts at home. Frequent or recurring cysts may require further medical treatment. To prevent recurrence — or to treat especially severe cysts — your doctor may recommend surgical removal of the cyst or even the complete salivary gland.
Mucous cysts can take anywhere from a week to two years after treatment to heal, depending on the type and severity of the cyst. Even after healing, the only way to ensure a cyst will not come back is to have it surgically removed.
Avoid habits like lip or cheek biting to help prevent future cysts. Mucoceles occur most commonly in children or young adults. There may be a history of trauma or lip biting. The similar-appearing mucus-retention cysts occur more often in older adults and without any history of preceding trauma.
Tartar-control toothpaste might be the cause in some mucoceles. Mucoceles usually occur on the lower lip and inner part of the cheek, as these are frequent areas of mouth trauma, but they can occur anywhere inside the mouth.
A mucocele may appear suddenly, while a mucus-retention cyst may slowly enlarge. Many mucoceles will go away on their own in 3—6 weeks. Lymphangioma and hemangioma show similar sonomorphologic characteristics. On examination, loosely connected alveolar, structural patterns composed partially of hypoechogenic and hyperechogenic areas can be detected.
Intra- and extraglandular lipomas appear as sharply demarcated, ovoid masses with hypoechogenic, homogeneous reflection patterns. Lipoma shows a more hypoechogenic reflection pattern than the remaining parenchyma of the salivary gland, but its echo texture is more hyperechogenic than that of other types of intraglandular tumors and exhibits a linear, hyperechogenic feathery texture. Soft tissue abscesses appear hypoechogenic to echo-free with hyperechogenic border, and a distinct distal acoustic enhancement and roughly patterned hyperechogenic echoes at the center of liquefaction foci, can correspond to necrotic tissue contributors.
The demonstration of mucus retention phenomenon and inflammatory cells can be done by fine needle aspiration, and high amylase and protein content can be revealed in chemical analysis. The localization and determination of the origin of the lesion can be done by CT and magnetic resonance imaging.
Surgical excision with removal of the accessory salivary glands has been suggested as the treatment. Marsupialization will only result in recurrence, but large lesions are best treated with unroofing procedures marsupialization.
It is done to prevent significant loss of tissue or to decrease the risk for significantly traumatizing the labial branch of mental nerve. If fibrous wall is thick, moderate sized lesions may be treated by dissection. If this approach is used, the adjacent minor salivary glands must be removed carefully to avoid injury to any marginal glands and ducts, which may lead to recurrence of the lesion. The excised tissue should be submitted to the pathological investigations to confirm the diagnosis.
Laser ablation, cryosurgery, and electrocautery are approaches that have also been used for treatment of the conventional mucoceles, with variable success. Source of Support: Nil. Conflict of Interest: None declared. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. Senthilkumar and M. Nazargi Mahabob. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Address for correspondence: Dr. Senthilkumar, E-mail: ni.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract A mucocele is a benign, mucus-containing cystic lesion of the minor salivary gland. Open in a separate window.
Figure 1. Mild facial asymmetry on the left side close to the angle of the mouth. Figure 2. Mild swelling with bluish color change in the site of the lesion. Figure 3. Figure 4. Swelling in region of 34, 35, 36 with bluish hue and smooth surface. Figure 5.
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