Good luck with a full tongue recovery -- you have helped my state of mind! It is nice to know that what I have been experiencing is not completely out of the ordinary.

Angie

It would be interesting to have an opinion from a dermatologist as well as an ENT physician.

Do the white patches only occur on the side of the nerve damage? Does it effect the same region as the nerve damage, or are they small patches? Do they come and go, or is it pretty constant? Does the tongue injury cause you to rub the tongue on teeth, etc?

Let me think about this one and ask around.

Ross

My doctor has treated it with two different anti-fungal medications and a round of antibiotics, none of which affected it at all. The pain I feel in my tongue is similar to what you feel after burning your tongue on a very hot drink -- a little sore yet a little numb, sometimes a little tingly. It started feeling this way immediately after having my wisdom teeth removed. It is not as sore as it was right after the surgery, but it did not improve much after the first month or so.

The tongue injury does not cause my tongue to rub on my teeth. Besides, the whiter part of the tongue is back where the teeth can't touch it anyway. I'm not too surprized that you're not familiar with it -- my doctor has been completely stumped. Extensive blood tests have ruled out any underlying systemic cause of the whiteness. I have (and have never had) any type of dermological problems.

If you ever see or hear anything along these lines, please let me know. Your site has been a big help to me!

Ross

My white coating is also "thicker" in the back of the tongue and covers the whole tongue, not just the damaged side. I also notice that my mouth gets drier easier than it used to.

I bought a tongue scraper but it doesn't always seem to work. some days the coating is thicker than others.

Has anyone else tried anything to get a pinker tongue? I am curious to know the reason for this and how many people have experienced this.

I too had a wisdom tooth extraction upper left with everything appearing normal for two to three weeks then suddently I'd get a very dry mouth, as if someone had stuffed a load of cotten wool in my mouth and I instantly had to get a drink. This would last for 5 minutes or so and subside.

Then I had some inflammation in the side of my mouth which the doctor prescribed penicillin for. However I felt very sick - strange as I don't normally react badly to antibiotics. It was all downhill from there. I ended up in casualty because I could get no relief from the awful sensation in my mouth and the dryness which left my tongue very white. The doctor at casualty said I ought to see an ENT specialist just in case it a saliver problem, as one needs the enzymes to digest food and keep the mouth in good order. My doctor disputed this and said I need an oral surgeon. Unfortunately my tongue problem wasn't considered a problem and I received a biopsy for the inflammation on the cheek which was negative.

I was off work for three months, because I was tired, could only eat a very bland diet, mainly fish bananas and mash, anything that didn't irritate my mouth. In desperation I asked the doctor for nystatin for thrush and my tongue reverted to something resembling my tongue. I've had two more courses of antibiotics which resulted in a white tongue again, followed by two more courses of Nystatin.

My tongue hasn't been itself for some time. Like yours it goes white all over except for the sides and tip, especially if I'm subject to strong odours, perfumes, hosehold chemicals.

The confusion lies in whether it was wisdom extraction induced or thrush induced.

I carry a synthetic oral saliver spray and hope that the problem sorts itself.

I'm having an MRI scan soon to investigate the burning and pain in my top and bottom left side. The pain in the site of the extraction was explained by the dentist as being the bone healing which could take a few months.

I'm also on a yeast free diet and have read a book on candida which on reflection details some of my symptoms

Conclusion: Thrush low grade brought on by infection in the mouth after extraction and/or antibiotics,

OR

alteration in mucosa and sensation in the mouth due to damage after extraction.

OR BOTH

I think I could deal with the problem more if Doctors were less than baffled unless of course they feel liable in some way. They dismis the symptoms as neurotic etc......

I wish you all the best and good luck.