Mucocele of lingual glands of Blandin and Nuhn: A report of 5 cases

Although mucoceles occur frequently in the oral cavity, more than 70% of cases occur on the lower lip. The occurrence of mucoceles on the tongue is considered rare and accounted for only 2.25% of all oral mucoceles in earlier studies. However, more recent reports suggested that the incidence of mucocele of the tongue is 9% to 10% of oral mucoceles and that they occur exclusively in the anterior lingual salivary glands of Blandin and Nuhn. In this report, five additional cases of mucocele of the glands of Blandin and Nuhn are described with review of the literature. The need is stressed to excise all lesions, no matter how minor, in the anterior ventral surface of tongue together with all minor salivary glands in the surgical field to avoid a recurrence or creation of a mucocele.