In trying to "decipher" the lyrics, you may be confusing the symptoms of the disease with those of the treatment! Dosing with mercurials, including Calomel, could produce a sore mouth, bleeding gums, profuse salivation, the loss of teeth, caries in the jawbone, and open sores- literally holes an inch in diameter or more- thru the cheek and under the jaw. There was serious disagreement among doctors about the use(or misuse) of Calomel at the period of the War of 1812 and earlier; some of the case descriptions are positively nauseating!. I can't find the reference at the moment (of course) but believe that at least in the 19th century "White Mercury" was called 'white precipitate of mercury- but am no chemist.