Diagnostic Salivary Gland Imaging - A Review

The oral and maxillofacial diagnosticians are responsible for the detection, description, differentiation and diagnosis of salivary gland disorders. The algorithm of salivary gland imaging depends on the stage of the clinical disease. For the sake of ease of description, the salivary gland disorders can be broadly divided in to inflammatory, reactive and space-occupying masses. Diagnostic imaging of salivary gland disease may be useful in distinguishing diffuse involvement from focal suppurative involvement, differentiate and identify neoplastic processes from inflammatory disease, delineate ductal morphology, identify sialoliths, identify the effect of salivary gland pathology on adjacent structures, aid in the selection of biopsy sites, etc. This article is aimed at reviewing the different imaging modalities and the current protocol of salivary gland imaging for different clinical situations.