Mom (98) has mild dementia. She’s had 2 instances (1meal & once late in same night w/water) not swallowing (dysphagia). Doctor appointment?

Call her doctor. I am concerned she might have a brain perfusion problem - blood pressure a little too low, small blood clot in brain, or small leaky blood vessel. Can't tell what is going on unless it is looked into.

Davemac: Imho, it's a good idea to check in with your mother's physician. God bless her at 98 years of age!

Why wait ???

wow 98 and only mild dementia, thats good, but it does sound like she is having some swallowing issues. i would check with a good elder doctor for this and you might have to thicken the water and start soft pureeing her food. wishing you luck and God bless.

Pneumonia used to be called ‘the old man’s friend’ because it was a quick and relatively easy way to die. If your mother is 98, no matter how much you love her, you might choose not to put her through tests followed by a total change of diet. On the site we often talk about ‘quality vs quantity’, but it’s still a hard choice. At least you have support in a decision that a swallowing incident doesn’t always have any bad effects.

You will want to get that checked out ASAP, as you certainly don't want your mom getting aspiration pneumonia, as that can kill her. Her Dr. can order a swallowing test to be done.
My husband who had vascular dementia, developed aspiration pneumonia, in Nov. 2018, and it almost killed him. His Dr. said that because he had dementia, my husbands brain was no longer telling his throat to close when eating or drinking, thus allowing his food and drink to go into his lungs. He developed sepsis and septic shock because of almost dying, and when I was able to bring him home, he initially had to eat only pureed foods and drink his drinks thickened with the product Thick It. Eventually he was able to eat just soft foods, but he continued on thickened liquids until he died last year.
So it's definitely worth getting her checked out to see if she has dysphagia before it leads to aspiration pneumonia. You can never be to careful. Best wishes.

My mom started with random choking and sputtering, thin liquids like water sometimes came out her nose and there were a couple of scary incidents of choking on meat where it got stuck part way down. I skipped the evaluation and devised my own care plan, beginning with nectar thickened fluids and pureed meats and then raising the level of modification as needed.
One thing I learned as a caregiver is that some people can last a very long time in extremely compromised health. My mom was double incontinent, needed to be spoon fed, could no longer ambulate or even reliably hold herself upright in her wheelchair and slept perhaps 18 - 24 hour a day when I finally admitted defeat and sent her to a nursing home and she lasted another 18 months there.

Well, if this happened five days ago and there has been no recurrence and there is no sign of any ill effects... what are you going to tell the doctor???

If you continue to be worried, you can ask for a swallowing assessment. It won't be uncomfortable for your mother and it should set your mind at rest. Meanwhile, just encourage her to take her time.

Dysphagia, by the way.

Dave, I looked up Dysphasia, and it says it is a language disorder, not a swallowing disorder. My MIL had the swallowing problem fairly often, and your mother is lucky if she’s reached 98 with only 2 instances. MIL’s problem happened in her 90s, usually when she was a bit hyped up, eating out or with other people, not on her own. We didn’t take her to the doctor, and she seemed to have no long term ill effects. She learned to eat smaller mouthfuls more slowly when she was at all ‘nervous’.

It also happened to me once a year or so ago, and was recognisably the same thing that happened to MIL. It was very unpleasant. I just couldn’t swallow, salivated a lot, and had to spit out the food and saliva in the bathroom. Once again, no apparent side effects or long term effects.

I hope that your mother isn’t too distressed about it, and that she keeps her great track record of minimal problems! Yours, Margaret