My soon-to-be 99 year old bed-bound mother, who I take care of at my house, has developed a new problem over the past two weeks. She has stopped eating and drinking well because she claims her tongue is sore. She sticks it out but I don’t see any obvious issues even with a flash light. Coincidentally, she lost an old crown on a tooth two weeks ago. This past Tuesday, I took her out (in a wheelchair van) for her annual Medicare wellness check and home-bound certification. Her Primary Care Physician was not able to get a good look because she was in a wheelchair, but he thought he saw some white colored hard spots and suspected a possible thrush infection. He prescribed a nystatin suspension oral medicine that is apparently frequently used for thrush in babies. Two days later, I had a mobile dentist come out to take a look. He was uncertain about the thrush diagnosis but said it was possible. To my surprise, she tolerated him grinding down the sharp points where the crown tooth was exposed. He said the nerve is likely dead -so no issues there. He was not certain that was the cause of the tongue pain. He suggested salt water rinses which I will try today. He also suggested continuing the nystatin in case thrush is the culprit. She is able to swish and spit mouthwash but is not cooperative with the nystatin. Not sure how the salt water rinses will go. I am realistic about her age and mild dementia, but she still recognizes everybody and all bloodwork and exam in her recent visit were ok. Anyone have experience with this kind of mouth discomfort?
Her mouth could be dry from meds, salivary glands that aren't producing enough saliva, or various other factors. You can order Biotene products from Walmart and Amazon, and they're not very expensive.
Good luck and I hope it works!
PS.....theres also a ton of ointments and things available otc to help with painful mouth and tongue sores. She may even have a canker sore developing that can't be seen but that she feels. Some are pastes that you apply right over the affected area, etc. I had good luck with those too when a denture was causing horrible issues in my mouth.