The inflammatory lesions in Küttner's tumor may occur on one side (unilateral) or both sides (bilateral), predominantly involving the submandibular gland, but is also known to occur in other major and minor salivary glands, including the parotid gland.

Overall, salivary gland tumors are relatively rare, with approximately 2.5–3 cases per 100,000 people per year seen in the Western world; however, salivary gland malignancies account for 3–5% of all head and neck cancers. However, salivary tumors show a great deal of morphological diversity, as well as variations in the nature of the lesion (malignant vs. benign): approximately 20% to 25% of parotid tumors, 35% to 40% of submandibular tumors, and more than 90% of sublingual gland tumors are malignant. This situation underscores the diagnostic challenges in respect of Küttner's tumor; despite being benign, this condition mimics the clinical appearance of malignancy in the salivary gland.

The swollen masses of Küttner's tumor are generally painful, and patients are advised surgical resection (known as 'sialadenectomy') of a part or whole of the glandular tissue upon suspicion of possible malignancy. It is only upon post-surgical histopathology of the excised mass that the diagnosis of Küttner's tumor is definitively made.

Chronic sclerosing sialadenitis is a chronic (long-lasting) inflammatory condition affecting the salivary gland. Relatively rare in occurrence, this condition is benign, but presents as hard, indurated and enlarged masses that are clinically indistinguishable from salivary gland neoplasms or tumors. It is now regarded as a manifestation of IgG4-related disease.

Involvement of the submandibular glands is also known as Küttner's tumor, named after Hermann Küttner (1870–1932), a German Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, who reported four cases of submandibular gland lesions for the first time in 1896.

Sclerosing polycystic adenosis is a rare, reactive inflammatory condition of the salivary glands. It may be mistaken for salivary gland neoplasia. It does not seem to be a fatal disease.

Congenital disorders of the salivary glands are rare, but may include:

- Aplasia

- Atresia

- Ectopic salivary gland tissue

- Stafne defect - an uncommon condition which some consider to be an anatomic variant rather than a true disease. It is thought to be created by an ectopic portion of salivary gland tissue which causes the bone of the mandible to remodel around the tissue, creating an apparent cyst like radiolucent area on radiographs. Classically, this lesion is discovered as a chance finding, since it causes no symptoms. It appears below the inferior alveolar nerve canal in the posterior region of the mandible.

Salivary gland diseases (SGD) are multiple and varied in cause.

There are 3 paired major salivary glands in humans (the parotid gland, the submandibular gland, and the sublingual gland), as well as about 800-1000 minor salivary glands in the oral mucosa of the mouth. The parotid gland is located in front of the ear, and it secretes its mostly serous saliva via the parotid duct (Stenson duct) into the mouth, usually opening roughly opposite the maxillary second molar. The submandibular gland is located medial to the angle of the mandible, and it drains its mixture of serous and mucous saliva via the submandibular duct (Wharton duct) into the mouth, usually opening in a punctum located in the floor of mouth. The sublingual gland is located below the tongue, in the floor of the mouth. It drains its mostly mucous saliva into the mouth via about 8-20 ducts which open along the plica sublingualis (a fold of tissue under the tongue).

The function of the salivary glands is to secrete saliva, which has a lubricating function, which protects the oral mucosa of the mouth during eating and speaking. Saliva also contains digestive enzymes (e.g. salivary amylase) and has antimicrobial action and acts as a buffer. Persons with reduced salivary flow or hyposalivation often suffer from dry mouth or xerostomia, which can result in severe dental caries (tooth decay) as a result of the loss of the protective effects of saliva.

Various examples of disorders affecting the salivary glands are listed below. Some are more common than others, and they are considered according to a surgical sieve, but this list is not exhaustive. Sialadenitis is inflammation of a salivary gland, usually caused by infections, although there are other less common causes of inflammation such as irradiation, allergic reactions or trauma.

Sialodochitis (also termed ductal sialadenitis), is inflammation of the duct system of a salivary gland. This is compared to sialadenitis, which is inflammation of the gland parenchyma.

Sialodochitis may be associated with salivary duct strictures and salivary stones.

It is common in both the parotid glands and submandibular glands.

The treatment is as for sialadenitis.

Nipple adenomas may be felt as a lump under the nipple or areola. They may come to attention because of nipple pain, ulceration, swelling or discharge.

It may appear on a CT scan or MRI scan as enhancement and dilation of the duct (sialectasis).

On sialography, it may appear as segments of duct dilation and stenosis. This is sometimes termed the 'sausage link appearance'.

Sialadenitis (sialoadenitis) is inflammation of a salivary gland. It may be subdivided temporally into acute, chronic and recurrent forms.

Affected individuals typically present with sudden painful proptosis, redness, and edema. Proptosis will vary according to the degree of inflammation, fibrosis, and mass effect. Occasionally, ptosis, chemosis, motility dysfunction (ophthalmoplegia), and optic neuropathy are seen. In the setting of extensive sclerosis there may be restriction, compression, and destruction of orbital tissue. Symptoms usually develop acutely (hours to days), but have also been seen to develop over several weeks or even months.Malaise, headaches, and nausea may accompany these symptoms. Other unusual presentations described include cystoid macular edema, temporal arteritis, and cluster headaches.

Pediatric IOI accounts for about 17% of cases idiopathic orbital inflammation. The most common sign is proptosis, but redness and pain are also experienced. Presentation varies slightly compared to adults with bilateral involvement, uveitis, disc edema and tissue eosinophilia being more common in this population. The presence of uveitis generally implies a poor outcome for pediatric IOI. Bilateral presentation may have a higher incidence of systemic disease.

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), formerly known as IgG4-related systemic disease, is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by tissue infiltration with lymphocytes and IgG4-secreting plasma cells, various degrees of fibrosis (scarring) and a usually prompt response to oral steroids. In approximately 51–70% of people with this disease, "serum" IgG4 concentrations are elevated during an acute phase.

It is a relapsing–remitting disease associated with a tendency to mass forming, tissue-destructive lesions in multiple sites, with a characteristic histopathological appearance in whichever site is involved. Inflammation and the deposition of connective tissue in affected anatomical sites can lead to organ dysfunction, or even organ failure, if not treated.

Early detection is important to avoid organ damage and potentially serious complications. Treatment is recommended in all symptomatic cases of IgG4-RD and also in asymptomatic IgG4-RD involving certain anatomical sites.

AIP is relatively uncommon and is characterized by the following features:

1. Scleral Icterus (yellow eyes), jaundice (yellow skin) which is usually painless, usually without acute attacks of pancreatitis.

2. Relatively mild symptoms, such as minimal weight loss or nausea.

3. Increased serum levels of gamma globulins, immunoglobulin G (IgG) or IgG4.

4. The presence of serum autoantibodies such as anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), anti-lactoferrin antibody, anti-carbonic anhydrase II antibody, and rheumatoid factor (RF).

5. Contrast-enhanced CT demonstrates a diffusely enlarged (sausage-shaped) pancreas.

6. Diffuse irregular narrowing of the main pancreatic duct, and stenosis of the intrapancreatic bile duct on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).

7. Rare pancreatic calcification or cyst formation.

8. Marked responsiveness to treatment with corticosteroids.

Two-thirds of patients present with either obstructive painless jaundice or a "mass" in the head of the pancreas mimicking carcinoma. It is mandatory to rule out carcinoma prior to making a diagnosis of AIP.

IgG4-related disease has been described as an indolent condition. Although possibly based on opinion rather than on objective assessments, symptoms, if any, are commonly described as mild in the medical literature. This can be in spite of considerable underlying organ destruction. People are often described as being generally well at the time of diagnosis, although some may give a history of weight loss.

Pain is generally not a feature of the inflammation. However it may occur as a secondary effect, for example due to either obstruction or compression.

Often diagnosis is made due to the presence of painless swellings or mass lesions, or due to complications of masses, e.g. jaundice due to involvement of the pancreas, biliary tree or liver. Symptoms are commonly attributed to other conditions and other diagnoses may have been made years before diagnosis, e.g. urinary symptoms in men attributed to common prostate conditions. Lesions may also be detected incidentally on radiological images, but can be easily misdiagnosed as malignancies.

Reported cases do include some significant symptoms or findings however:

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is an increasingly recognized type of chronic pancreatitis that can be difficult to distinguish from pancreatic carcinoma but which responds to treatment with corticosteroids, particularly prednisone. There are two categories of AIP: Type 1 and Type 2, each with distinct clinical profiles.

Type 1 AIP is now regarded as a manifestation of IgG4-related disease, and those affected have tended to be older and to have a high relapse rate. Type 1 is associated with pancreatitis, Sjogren syndrome, Primary sclerosing cholangitis and Inflammatory bowel disease. Patients with Type 2 AIP do not experience relapse, tend to be younger and not associated with systemic disease. AIP occurring in association with an autoimmune disorder has been referred to as "secondary" or "syndromic" AIP. AIP does not affect long-term survival.

Idiopathic orbital inflammatory (IOI) disease, or orbital pseudotumor, refers to a marginated mass-like enhancing soft tissue involving any area of the orbit. It is the most common painful orbital mass in the adult population, and is associated with proptosis, cranial nerve (Tolosa–Hunt syndrome), uveitis, and retinal detachment. Idiopathic orbital inflammatory syndrome, also known as orbital pseudotumor, was first described by Gleason in 1903 and by Busse and Hochhmein. It was then characterized as a distinct entity in 1905 by Birch-Hirschfeld. It is a benign, nongranulomatous orbital inflammatory process characterized by extraocular orbital and adnexal inflammation with no known local or systemic cause. Its diagnosis is of exclusion once neoplasm, primary infection and systemic disorders have been ruled-out. Once diagnosed, it is characterized by its chronicity, anatomic location or histologic subtype.

Idiopathic orbital inflammation has a varied clinical presentation depending on the involved tissue. It can range from a diffuse inflammatory process to a more localized inflammation of muscle, lacrimal gland or orbital fat. Its former name, orbital pseudotumor, is derived due to resemblance to a neoplasm. However, histologically it is characterized by inflammation. Although a benign condition, it may present with an aggressive clinical course with severe vision loss and oculomotor dysfunction.

The microscopic appearance of a nipple adenoma can be mistaken for carcinoma. Other conditions that have similar symptoms and signs as nipple adenoma include Paget's disease of the breast, other intraductal papillomas, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), syringomatous adenoma of the nipple and subareolar sclerosing duct hyperplasia.

Microcystic adnexal carcinoma (also known as sclerosing sweat duct carcinoma) is a cutaneous condition characterized by a slow-growing plaque or nodule.

In chronic recurrent sialadenitis or chronic sclerosing sialadenitis, acute attacks are managed with conservative therapies such as hydration, analgesics (mainly NSAIDs), sialogogues to stimulate salivary secretion, and regular, gentle gland massage. If infection is present, appropriate cultures should be obtained, followed by empirical antibiotic therapy initially, for example amoxicillin/clavulanate or clindamycin which cover oral flora.

If there are attacks more than approximately 3 times per year or severe attacks, surgical excision of the affected gland should be considered.

Cementoblastoma usually occurs in people under the age of 25, particularly males. It usually involves the permanent mandibular molars or premolars. The involved tooth usually has a vital pulp. It is attached to the tooth root and may cause its resorption, may involve the pulp canal, grows slowly, tends to expand the overlying cortical plates, and, except for the enlargement produced, is usually asymptomatic. This involves the buccal and lingual aspects of the alveolar ridges. But may be associated with diffuse pain and tooth mobility, but the tooth is still vital.

Since a cementoblastoma is a benign neoplasm, it grossly forms a mass of cementum-like tissue as an irregular or round mass attached to the roots of a tooth, usually the permanent mandibular first molar.

Salivary gland aplasia (also termed salivary gland agenesis) is the congenital absence of salivary glands. Usually the term relates to the absence of some or all of the major salivary glands.

It is a rare condition, and most known cases have been in association with syndromes of the ectodermal tissues, particularly the lacrimal apparatus. Example syndromes which have been reported with salivary gland aplasia include hereditary ectodermal dysplasia, mandibulofacial dysostosis and hemifacial microsomia.

The main significance of the condition is a lack of saliva, causing xerostomia (dry mouth), with accompanying susceptibility to dental caries (tooth decay), infections of the mouth, and upper respiratory tract infections (e.g., candidiasis, ascending sialadenitis, laryngitis and pharyngitis). Patients with salivary gland aplasia typically require regular application of topical fluoride to prevent tooth decay.

A cementoblastoma in a radiograph appears as a well-defined, markedly radiopaque mass, with a radiolucent peripheral line, which overlies and obliterates the tooth root. it is described as having a rounded or sunburst appearance. There is usually apparent external resorption of the root where the tumor and the root join. Severe hypercementosis and chronic focal sclerosing osteomyelitis are lesions to consider in the differential diagnosis of this lesion.

"Chronic nonspecific parotitis:"

This term is generally used for patients in whom no definite cause is found. Episodes may last for several days, paralleling the time course of a bacterial or viral illness. Others may experience episodes that last only a few hours from onset to resolution. Some episodes may last for several weeks. Quiescent periods between episodes last for hours, days, or even years.

"Recurrent parotitis of childhood:"

An uncommon syndrome in which recurring episodes clinically resembling mumps. Generally, episodes begin by age 5 years, and virtually all patients become asymptomatic by age 10–15 years. The duration of attacks averages 3–7 days but may last 2–3 weeks in some individuals. The spectrum varies from mild and infrequent attacks to episodes so frequent that they prevent regular school attendance.

Local heat applied to the gland, massaging the gland from back to front, and taking penicillin usually cure individual episodes. Treatment of individual infections may prevent injury to the gland parenchyma. Severe disease may be treated by parotidectomy.

"Sialadenosis (sialosis):"

In this disorder, both parotid glands may be diffusely enlarged with only modest symptoms. Patients are aged 20–60 years at onset, and the sexes are equally involved. The glands are soft and non-tender. Approximately half of the patients have endocrine disorders such as diabetes, nutritional disorders such as pellagra or kwashiorkor, or have taken drugs such as guanethidine, thioridazine, or isoprenaline.

"Sarcoidosis:"

The lungs, skin, and lymph nodes are most often affected, but the salivary glands are involved in approximately 10% of cases. Bilateral firm, smooth, and non-tender parotid enlargement is classic. Xerostomia occasionally occurs. The Heerfordt-Waldenstrom syndrome consists of sarcoidosis with parotid enlargement, fever, anterior uveitis, and facial nerve palsy.

"IgG4-related sialadenitis":

This term refers to IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) involving any of the major salivary glands, i.e. parotid or submandibular glands. This is often symmetrical and is usually associated with manifestations of IgG4-RD elsewhere in the body. IgG4-related sialadenitis is particularly associated with involvement of one or both of the lacrimal glands (referred to as IgG4-related dacryo-sialadenitis). "Mikulicz's disease", now considered to be a subtype of IgG4-related disease, was a term used when (i) any two of the parotid, submandibular and lacrimal glands were persistently and symmetrically enlarged and (ii) other diseases that may mimic this presentation were excluded.

"Pneumoparotitis:"

Air within the ducts of the parotid gland with or without inflammation. The duct orifice normally functions as a valve to prevent air from entering the gland from a pressurized oral cavity. Rarely, an incompetent valve allows insufflation of air into the duct system. Pneumoparotitis most commonly occurs in wind instrument players, glass blowers, and scuba divers.

Several lymph nodes reside within the parotid gland as a superficial and deep group of nodes. These nodes may be involved with any process that affects lymph nodes, including bacterial, fungal, viral, and neoplastic processes. Rarely, drugs such as iodides, phenylbutazone, thiouracil, isoproterenol, heavy metals, sulfisoxazole, and phenothiazines cause parotid swelling.

Parotitis is an inflammation of one or both parotid glands, the major salivary glands located on either side of the face, in humans. The parotid gland is the salivary gland most commonly affected by inflammation.

Most polyps do not cause noticeable symptoms. Gallbladder polyps are usually found incidentally when examining the abdomen by ultrasound for other conditions, usually abdominal pain.

Signs and symptoms are variable and depend largely upon whether the obstruction of the duct is complete or partial, and how much resultant pressure is created within the gland. The development of infection in the gland also influences the signs and symptoms.

- Pain, which is intermittent, and may suddenly get worse before mealtimes, and then slowly get better (partial obstruction).

- Swelling of the gland, also usually intermittent, often suddenly appearing or increasing before mealtimes, and then slowly going down (partial obstruction).

- Tenderness of the involved gland.

- Palpable hard lump, if the stone is located near the end of the duct. If the stone is near the submandibular duct orifice, the lump may be felt under the tongue.

- Lack of saliva coming from the duct (total obstruction).

- Erythema (redness) of the floor of the mouth (infection).

- Pus discharging from the duct (infection).

- Cervical lymphadenitis (infection).

- Bad Breath.

Rarely, when stones form in the minor salivary glands, there is usually only slight local swelling in the form of a small nodule and tenderness.