The function of any salivary gland within the beam is permanently destroyed by a dose of about 40 Gy. Radiation also causes oral mucositis and burns the overlying skin. Chemotherapy and the mucositis that frequently accompanies it often result in xerostomia. However, some salivary function usually returns several weeks after completion of chemotherapy. They cause bone tenderness and severe pain originating in the affected bone.
Treatment is aggressive surgical excision.
Odontoma, the most common odontogenic neoplasm, is a tumor of the dental follicle or the dental tissues that usually appears in the mandibles of young persons. Odontomas include fibrous odontomas and cementomas. An absent molar tooth suggests a composite odontoma. No treatment is usually needed for odontoma, although they are excised when the diagnosis is in doubt. Osteosarcoma, giant cell tumor, Ewing's tumor, multiple myeloma, and metastatic tumors may affect the jaw.