I have sjogren's syndrome, which is causing my mouth to be dry. I am dealing with that by drinking lots of fluids, and it's not so bad.But my main concern is that the right side of my mouth is numb! It is not completely numb, but I seem to have lost some of my sensation and ability to taste. It is only on the right side of my mouth. The best way to describe it is that it feels like I was injected with novocaine, and that it has started to wear off but isn't completely gone. The right side of my mouth is like this from the middle of my tongue, all the way to my palette and gums, as well as my teeth and cheeks. I can barely taste my food. This has been going on for about a week. My tongue is also white all over, but red at the tip. I went to the dentist two days ago and he said my teeth look great, and he doesn't see anything visibly wrong with my mouth. But he said that my tongue is probably white from dryness. Does that sound right????
I spoke with my rheumatologist over the phone several times, and he thinks that the lack of sensation in my mouth may have something to do with sjogrens, even though I have not been formally diagnosed yet (it can take several years to get positive blood test results) He said that sjogrens can cause neuropathies and other neurological problems. So he is sending me to a neurologist. But please, somebody give me another reason for this! I don't want to have any neurological problems! I am very scared!
What I want to know from all of you, is before I go ahead with a full neurological workup, can you think of anything that could be wrong with my teeth/jaw/mouth that could be causing this. Also, is there any way to regain my sensation/taste? Please help me. I'm very scared.
I posted a message re a matter very similar to yours, but I don't think anyone responded. You mentioned that your tongue was white. I didn't think that I had that part of it, but I just looked and that right side of my tongue is much much lighter with reddened areas in the center. That is strange. I never noticed that before until I read your post and checked. The right side of my tongue and pallet feel just like you described! I have no idea what it is. I have a specialty neuro, and he suggested an MRI from another neuro, but I haven't done that yet. I am without my bridge on that same side so I wondered if my teeth are moving due to the teeth/bridge not being there and maybe pressure on the trigeminal nerve is the cause of this numbness. I do not know anything abt the condition you mentioned, but I will look it up. I hope it is my bridge missing. Phoebe
Thanks Phoebe. My numbness seems to have dissipated. It went away after about a week. The odd thing is that now I have a tonsil infection. I am wondering if there is any sort of relation between my dry mouth, the numbness and my tonsils. It's possible that my dry mouth could cause a tonsil infection (if I can't swallow my food and it gets stuck in my tonsils). I am scheduled to see a neurologist in 2 weeks, so I'll know more then.
numb mouth 
