ONDAMED Case Studies — Mucocele

JM is a 16-year old male diagnosed with a mucocele on 7/19/06.

It would grow, burst and then re-grow every 2-3 weeks. A mucocele represents a condition in which damage to one of the small salivary (spit) glands leads to the formation of a soft bump or a blister-like lesion in the mouth. This can occur on lips, under the tongue, or less commonly on the roof of the mouth. It is a common and harmless phenomenon, although it can be annoying for the patient. A history of enlargement, breaking, and shrinkage is fairly common, and these lesions can be remarkably persistent. If untreated, these will often swell, break (like a water balloon), and heal over, only to swell again and repeat the cycle. This condition rarely goes away on its’ own. An oral surgeon usually has to remove the spilled saliva and affected gland in order to completely stop the process. Surgery was the only option presented to JM. He was also told that excised tissue should then be examined under the microscope to exclude the very small chance of some form of growth or tumor. Neither JM nor his parents wanted to consider surgery as a first option. The day after the visit with the oral surgeon JM received ONDAMED treatment. The practitioner informed JM and his parents that she had absolutely no idea if ONDAMED would be able to effect any change in the mucocele. He received ONDAMED treatment on 7/20, 7/24/ and 7/28. Between the first and second treatment, the mucocele decreased in size by 60%. It continued to shrink after the second treatment. By the third treatment the mucocele was almost completely gone with some very small residual left. Prior to the treatment, JM could feel the surface mucocele as well as the rest of the mucocele deeper into the tissue that was not visible. The deeper part of the mucocele had completely disappeared. The mucocele has not grown back since 7/28/07.    (Case Study conducted by Dr. Shari Lieberman)