19 year old Coco Kitty smells & paws at mouth

[satori14u]

Hi,  Coco is 19 now. I have had her since she's been about 4 weeks old.    I seen she was pawing at her mouth about 3 months ago and took her to the vet.  Vet said she had a chipped fang tooth but no infection.  Her bladder was a little enlarged.  Vet said she didn't seem in pain.  She has always been a small kitty at about 5 pounds.   I have always free fed her mostly dry food.   I found that this was very bad for her and now just give her canned food.  She seems to have a good appetite of 2 to 3 3oz. cans a day.   She has been pawing at her mouth more often now and has a horrible odor.   At this age I don't want to do anything to extreme for her health like having her put under for tooth extraction etc.   However,  I want her to enjoy her last days not in pain.  She sleeps more but still get around fine, Suns every day on a tall cat tree she has to make about a 4' jump to get where she suns,  has a healthy appetite, shiny coat,  plays occasionally and uses her litter box.  I brush her and have used a wet paper towel to wipe her face, nose and mouth and I also give her Colloidal Silver drops in food and water.  
1.  How to know if she is in Pain or has an infection?
2.  How to dry groom / clean her to keep smell in check?
3.  Anything else I can do for her?
Thanks for your feedback / help :)!
Kim

[satori14u]

Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate it!   I will ask the vet about Rimadyl and Burprenex.  She is not purring however, is slobbering.  Is there a way to file the fang tooth that is chipped as I am thinking this is part of what is bothering her.  I am a little displeased with the Vet to whom I have taken her to for the last 19yrs to not have made a suggestion of the above.  Do you think I should take her to a different Vet?   The smell is also really bad and she like to cuddle on chest next to my nose lol!  Is there anything that may help this?  Thanks again for you help.
Kim

[satori14u]

Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate it!   I will ask the vet about Rimadyl and Burprenex.  She is not purring however, is slobbering.  Is there a way to file the fang tooth that is chipped as I am thinking this is part of what is bothering her.  I am a little displeased with the Vet to whom I have taken her to for the last 19yrs to not have made a suggestion of the above.  Do you think I should take her to a different Vet?   The smell is also really bad and she like to cuddle on chest next to my nose lol!  Is there anything that may help this?  Thanks again for you help.
Kim

[opus88]

Hi.....I echo all that Blu has said, I strongly urge you to ask the Vet for the pain med called BUPRENEX...this does come in liquid form its very good for dental (nerve pain) and is one of the safer ones for cats...she does sound like she is in pain and I agree abt not wanting to put her through any anesthesia at this stage in her life....but do keep her comfortable. ♥

[BluCrystal]

Hi, Kim!  It is truly and wonderfully amazing that Coco has aged gracefully to 19 years!  Kudos to you for being such a great cat-mommy!  A cat in pain will purr, show aggression, and pull away from a touch at the site of the pain.  She may slobber as well if the pain is dental.  Smart thinking not to do too much for her at this age.  To groom her, run a baby wipe or two over her body, then brush her gently.  You can do this up to twice a day.  Remember to never leave her damp: the chill is not good for her, and if she licks at and swallows a large enough amount of the baby wipe liquid, it might upset her tummy.  Ask your vet for a liquid, oral painkiller that you can give to her every day, to ease any discomfort she may be having.  Ordinarily, a vet would give Rimadyl (like tylenol but for cats), but I don't know if this comes in a liquid.  You may have to crush it and put it in her food.  Rimadyl tastes good to animals, so she should not be turned off her food by it.  Blessings to you and Coco! - Blu