Sialometaplasia of the soft palate in a 2-year-old girl.

A case of sialometaplasia of the soft palate is reported in a 2-year-old girl 3 months after she had an adenoidectomy. Dental practitioners should be aware of the possible causes of intraoral swellings in both children and adults. The appearance of some conditions in children may differ from their characteristic appearance in adults. Necrotizing sialometaplasia may appear as an aggressive-looking lesion in an adult, possibly resembling squamous cell carcinoma. In the young patient reported here, frank necrosis was not evident from clinical or histological examination. Necrosis may not be part of the presentation of sialometaplasia in such young children.