Diagnosis
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Your dentist will look for a rubbery, bubblelike swelling. It is usually inside the lower lip or under the tongue. Some mucoceles look blue. Your dentist will ask if you experienced trauma in that area. Maybe you bit your lip or were hit in the face with something. Also, some medicines can thicken your saliva. This can plug up a salivary gland and cause a mucocele.
Mucoceles occur only where you have salivary glands.
If you have a blue swelling that looks like a mucocele, your dentist may put pressure on it to see if it changes color (blanches). If it does, it may be a harmless growth made of blood vessels. This is known as a hemangioma.
Your dentist may take out the swollen tissue. It will be sent to a laboratory. The laboratory can tell if the tissue is a mucocele, or if it is something else. You may get an X-ray of the area. The X-ray will show if you have a salivary gland stone (sialolith). X-rays often are done for people who have ranulas.