My 12-yr old son has a 1 cm x 2 cm painful nodule just anterior to his left ear. It hurts when he opens and closes his jaw and when I apply pressure directly to the nodule. We went to see our pediatric dentist and he ruled out any dental involvement. We are scheduled to see an oral surgeon, but I was wondering what differential diagnoses I should be aware of. Thank you.
Hi, Thanks for asking the query, According to your clinical history I suppose that presence of painful nodules in front of the ear can be due to lymphadenopathy due to infections, nodules can be due to infection in the tooth can be a periodontal cyst related to an infected upper molar. I would suggest you to visit an Oral Surgeon and get the checkup done take an OPG radiograph for proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan. Other than this it can be due to parotid gland inflammation called parotitis or a parotid gland cyst. Hope this helps out. Regards....