The management of salivary gland disease forms a considerable part of the work done by oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Fast track and one-stop head and neck lump clinics allow for early diagnosis of salivary gland tumours in most units, the emphasis being on outcome after operation for benign disease. There have been limited advances in salivary gland surgery in recent years. Most recent publications have compared outcome of new methods of treatment with conventional techniques. This article reviews papers related to diseases of the salivary glands published in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (BJOMS) over a two-year period (2007-2008), and includes other relevant articles to bring readers up to date about salivary gland disease.