[Biopsy of the accessory salivary glands. 5 years' experience]

Biopsy of the minor salivary glands has become a routine examination ordered by physicians working in a wide range of disciplines in order to search for or eliminate the diagnosis of Gougerot Sjögren's disease or another systemic disease. We emphasize the need to use this examinations as a part of a complete work-up of the buccal cavity and the salivary glands. We reviewed our experience with 1,500 biopsies. The glands biopsied were normal in 56% of the cases and led to the diagnosis of Gougerot Sjögren's disease in 24%, chronic sialadenitis in 10% and diverse trophic problems in 5%. The clinical stage of Gougerot Sjögren's disease is usually proposed according to the Chisholm classification which we propose to compare with the Chomette classification. Finally, we described the technique of minor salivary gland biopsy.