Need help

[Jeff327]

For the past year, I keep getting these wierd dead skin on my inner cheeks. It's mostly on my left side where the teeth meet. They look whitish and when I scrape them off with a paper towel or my fingernail it is not red or bleeding underneath. It feels like skin when I scrape it out and touch it with my fingers. Does this sound like thrush? Does thrush feel like skin when touched? My mouth has been excessively dry for the past year, I have to sip water constantly and chew sugar free gum. Could it just be caused by the dry mouth? I tested negative for HIV a year ago on rapid tests.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

Thrush may be associated with some type of immune disorder in which the immune system isn't functioning properly.  It can also be a side effect of antibiotics which kill bacteria but doesn't harm fungus, which then can grow more easily with less competition from bacteria.

[Jeff327]

The last time I was at the dentist and he didn't see anything. Is thrush common in healthy individuals or is there some underlying condition I need to look into ? I just notice it when my mouth is dry and it's almost like sloughed skin. Everything you read about thrush is that's it's creamy so that why I was wondering what thrush feels like when touched.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

It may be thrush or it may be food particles/plaque building up in the area due to the dry mouth and lack of saliva to wash it out.  Have you seen your dentist or primary care physician about it?  If it is thrush, a course of anti-fungals should take care of it.