It sounds what you’re describing is a mucocele, which is a tiny gland under the surface of your skin that fills up with liquid. Normally these glands are at work full time, creating the moisture in your mouth and keeping you comfortable. But when one of them gets blocked you may notice that an area will often swell up slightly, especially right before a meal.
Mucoceles are harmless and should be left alone, especially if they pop on their own or never get much larger than a BB pellet. We have thousands of salivary glands in our mouths – in our cheeks, on the insides of our lips, under our tongue and even on the roof of our mouth. They can sustain a small injury to the surface which may cause the gland to heal shut. If there’s nowhere for the saliva to drain it ends up filling the gland until it bursts. Salivary glands that are injured in this way may go up and down every day as they cycle through filling and bursting.
Most mucoceles require no treatment, but if you ever notice one that gets particularly large or that you get a large clear swelling in the center floor of your mouth, you may need to see a dentist or oral surgeon for treatment because you may have a ranula, which is a blockage of a major salivary gland under your tongue. Ranulas usually aren’t painful but they can make it difficult to swallow if they are allowed to continue swelling.
If you have concerns about these or any other bumps in your mouth, we’re always available for simple consultations. Just contact us and we can schedule you a quick appointment with Dr. Rossen.
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[dt_sc_team name=”Trish Walraven” degree=”” email=”” role=”Dental Hygienist” image=”https://rossendental.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trish.jpg” twitter=”https://twitter.com/trishwalraven” facebook=”https://www.facebook.com/trish.walraven” google=”https://plus.google.com/103338669346626631023/posts” linkedin=””]
Trish moved to The Colony in 1992 after finishing her bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene at Texas Woman’s University, and has been helping Dr. Rossen take care of his patients’ smiles since 1999.
The small-town feel here is the best, according to Trish, so be sure to say “hi” when you see her at the sports fields, schools, and at the grocery store. She and her husband are blessed to have two loving kids, a couple of schnauzers, and a thriving dental software company. Also, visit her at DentalBuzz.com, a humor and dental trends website.
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Mucoceles under the tongue can actually be popped pretty easily if you move your tongue around it a bit..
I have had this bubble in my mouth on my lip. It is painful I didn’t know what is was before and I popped it. It went down and a couple weeks later today it is about the size of a “nerd”. It is hard to avoid because of when I am eating. What should I do?
I have it on my lip and i want to take it of i dont like it and it bothers me a lot when im kissin or eating what should i do???
Is it bad if they pop up a lot, because lately i have had like three in the past month and they also kinda hurt
Its right next to my mouth ulcer and its annoying cause when i apply bonjela to my ulcer right. Its in my way. I hope it dosent get bigger cause i already have 2 mouth ulcers to deal with right now.
I had a persistant mucoceles that swelled up at least once a week for about 5 months. It disappeared after a deep tooth scaling and antibiotic treatment under the gum and never returned. Did this treatment heal it?
I’m pretty sure hot foods, to much acidic stuff can cause them and if you dip that can cause it too
I have a whole mouth full of these on the roof and back of mouth. Small painful blisters. I’ve had Radiotherapy to my neck and think it’s damaged all of my salivary glands causing these tiny painful blisters.
i have one on the inside of my lower lip and it goes away after a few days then comes back for a few days, it’s been doing this for awhile now and it’s really annoying. what do i do?
I have repeated water filled sore in lower lip from the last 1 month. It goes for a day or two and appears back. What should I do ?
My mom has white lines in inner lining of cheek. Whenever after eating, she gets this clear bubble near the last teeth (jaw area). But now the bubble seems to ‘move’ to the upper side that area. She has some immune system disease, no hypertention or other medical condition. Wondering how to treat this condition?