Soft foods are in, chewy or hard foods are out while you recover from wisdom teeth removal. Here, our Ottawa dentists give advice on which foods to stock up on and what to avoid.
If your dentist finds your wisdom teeth are impacted or coming in at crooked angles, they’ll often recommend having wisdom teeth removed and eating a healthful diet full of soft foods while you heal.
Though your schedule may vary depending on your dentist’s recommendations and other factors, we’ve put together a general timeline of what to eat at different stages of recovery - and answered the important question of when you’ll be able to get back to your regular diet.
Why maintain good self-care and eat soft, healthy foods after wisdom teeth are removed?
While having your wisdom teeth removed is a common procedure, maintaining a healthy diet full of soft foods, following instructions from your dentist and managing self-care are important to healing. You’ll want to avoid infections or complications, which can result from food or bacteria becoming trapped in the extraction area.
What can I eat after having my wisdom teeth removed?
For 3 to 5 Days
Generally, you’ll want to stick to liquids and soft, mushy foods for 3 to 5 days, including:
- Blended soups (easy to eat, nutrient-rich and hydrating)
- Broths (full of essential vitamins and minerals to aid recovery)
- Yogurt
- Pudding
- Smoothies
- Potatoes (mashed, sweet or regular)
- Apple sauce
- Seedless, pureed fruit
- Pureed or mashed vegetables (carrots, squash)
- Banana ice cream or regular ice cream
- Jell-O
As you begin to heal, gradually incorporate more regular, semi-soft foods such as:
- Scrambled eggs
- Macaroni and cheese
- Instant oatmeal
- Toast
Let any hot foods cool before eating, keep the area clean per your dentist’s recommendations, and don’t forget to take prescriptions as directed.
Which foods should I avoid?
For 1 Week or More
For the first few days, the extraction site will be tender and vulnerable to infection. You’ll want to avoid foods that may irritate the area or lead to complications, such as:
- Acidic, tough or spicy foods (citrus juice, peppers)
- Crumbly, crunchy or tough foods (pizza, jerky, popcorn, hamburgers, etc.)
- Grains (rice, quinoa)
- Alcohol
- Seeds
For 2 to 4 weeks
These snack foods may be delicious. However, you should ban them from your diet until you're fully recovered. These can get stuck in the wound and disrupt healing.
- Chips
- Popcorn
- Nuts
Other Helpful Routines
For 3 to 5 Days
Avoid using a straw and spitting for 3 to 5 days after surgery. These create suction in your mouth, which raises the risk of developing dry socket - a painful condition where the clot that protects the area your tooth is removed from becomes dislodged. This exposes your bones and nerves to air, which hampers healing and causes pain.
Avoid smoking for 5 days, as the nicotine in cigarettes impedes healing and prolongs recovery time. Avoid chewing tobacco for at least a week.
One Week After Surgery
At the 7-day mark following your surgery, start to rinse your extraction sites to rid the area of debris and food (your dentist may provide a syringe for this). Do not rinse before this as you may also remove the healing blood clot.
When can I start eating normal food after wisdom teeth extraction?
Many patients find they can resume normal eating within a week of having their wisdom teeth removed.
Maintaining a diet full of soft, delicious and healthy foods in the days and weeks after wisdom teeth removal is crucial to your recovery. As long as you stick to the right foods - and steer clear of foods that can disrupt your recovery - you’ll feel more comfortable and help reduce your risk of infection.
Are you experiencing jaw pain or swelling, red or swollen gums, or bad breath? You may need your wisdom teeth removed. Contact our Ottawa dentists to book an appointment today.
March 15, 2022
Many people who undergo a tooth extraction procedure wonder how long they have to wait until they begin eating regular food, especially solid foods like meat, cereals, and legumes. After tooth extraction, many dentists recommend that a patient wait for a considerable amount of time until they begin eating solid foods. It is imperative to follow the dentist’s instructions as this gives time for your wound after tooth extraction to heal and this reduces also reduces infection in the wound and the surrounding area. In addition, firm or sharp solid foods can harm the healing site or potentially dislodge the blood clot, resulting in a dry socket. Town Dental- Excelsior looks at how long you should wait before eating solid foods and what foods to consume after tooth extraction.
Why Do You Need A Tooth Extraction?
A dentist may prescribe a tooth extraction for various reasons, including impaction, dental decay, periodontal and gum disease, trauma, or tooth crowding.
Impaction occurs when one teeth grows and pushes directly against another. This can cause infection and swollen gums, which can also bleed. When you notice these symptoms, it is recommended to look for tooth extraction near you where your dentist can either recommend tooth removal or another option.
Tooth decay can spread in your tooth, causing intense pain, redness and swelling. When a tooth reaches this stage, it may be necessary to extract it all together. In addition, tooth extraction will help prevent infection to the other teeth.
Teeth are frequently among the first to be damaged after an accident. An accident might sometimes result in a tooth becoming too damaged to salvage. If this is the case, tooth extraction will be required as rehabilitation. Otherwise, a broken tooth might get seriously infected, necessitating a surgery like a root canal, which can be quite painful.
Aside from causing discomfort, tooth impaction can also result in overcrowding, causing previously straight and well-aligned smiles to become crooked. Removing the troublesome teeth in the rear of the mouth might allow the other teeth to expand out as needed.
How Long After Tooth Extraction Can You Eat Solid Food?
Even though tooth extraction is a relatively safe treatment, proper aftercare is essential for a speedy recovery. In addition, food plays a vital part in post-operative care. Therefore, you should understand when, what, and how to eat after having a tooth extracted to ensure that you do not do anything that slows or delays the healing process, or worse, causes issues.
You should normally forgo solid food for just 24 hours following your tooth extraction in Excelsior, MN, after which you may be able to resume eating again.
It is advisable to look for a dentist near you who can give particular feeding guidelines since they vary depending on the sort of treatment you’ve had and your recovery time. But keep in mind that it’s always better to err on the side of caution than to risk inflicting harm!
The amount of time taken before you can eat solid foods can also depend on the number of teeth you have had removed during one procedure. For instance, a patient who has severe tooth decay may have multiple teeth extracted, and therefore they have to wait longer before they can eat solid foods.
What to Eat After Tooth Extraction?
Within the first 24 hours after tooth removal surgery, you should avoid consuming anything that involves chewing. Try to limit yourself to liquids exclusively. If they don’t fill you up and you want to consume solid food, go for soft meals that don’t need much chewing, like pudding or oatmeal.
It is also important to note that you should not use a straw after the tooth extraction. While drinking with a straw may appear to be a more convenient method of eating liquid food, the suction created by the straw might dislodge the blood clot in your wound, resulting in bleeding, discomfort, and a delay in healing.
You can start to eat soft foods that need little chewing 24 hours after tooth removal. However, you should be careful not to eat from the side of the procedure as this may cause some pain.