RE: The white puss underneath tongue

Thank you for your response to my question regarding the white puss under the tongue condition. I have an additional question, my boyfriend went to the doctor and they couldn't figure out what it is that he has. They gave him Amoxicillin, and told him to check back in a couple days if the problem has gotten worse.

Question: So if it is a salivary gland infection or candidiasis, like you stated, would Amoxicillin take care of it?

Thank you so much for your help,
Michelelee

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

If it was a salivary gland infection, it probably would reduce the infection if the antibiotics killed the bacteria in the area.

If it is candidiasis, it would probably worsen the situation as it kills bacteria but not the fungus.  The fungus would actually grow faster since there's less competition from the bacteria in the mouth.  A simple way to figure out if its a fungal infection is to merely wipe the white stuff away and see if its removeable.  If it comes off and the area underneath is raw and red, its pretty indicative of a fungal infection and he should be placed on antifungals instead of antibiotics.