Your diet after a tooth extraction procedure is an important part of your recovery. This is why you need to know what and how to eat after the procedure. Against this backdrop, you should avoid very solid foods until 5 days after tooth extraction.
In the true spirit of ensuring that your recovery is not interrupted by diet, this Dental Health Directory general health post will touch on this subject. By the way, this information does not supersede whatever your dentist says. This is just a general rule that is also medically backed up.
When and What to Eat After Tooth Extraction
A tooth extraction is a dental procedure and there are post-surgery requirements to help avoid complications. Besides using the prescribed drugs to help numb pain caused by the removal, and also to facilitate complete healing, there are other requirements.
Staying off certain foods and eating habits is one such. In light of this, here is a timeline explaining what you can eat and what you should avoid after tooth extraction:
24 Hours after the Surgery
It is advisable to only stick to liquid foods within 24 hours after tooth extraction. Tea and tomato soups are good choices. Your dentist may permit you to have soft foods in some cases. But beyond texture, the temperature matters as well. This is why you should avoid hot foods.
Allow whatever you want to eat to cool off with time. The reason is that having a tooth removed leaves a wound and you don’t want to tamper with the blood clot that starts the healing process. Taking hot foods can tamper with the clot and cause bleeding.
Other than what you eat, some of the other rules within this timeframe include – not rinsing your mouth and using a straw to suck liquid substances.
Related Read: How to Get Dental Implants Covered by Insurance
24 Hours (1 Day) to 2 Days after Tooth Extraction
It is safe to start having soft solid meals at this point. Just be very particular about eating foods with a very soft texture. Examples of food that fit this description include:
- Yogurt (either with fruit bits/nuts or not)
- Eggs
- Ice Cream
- Oatmeal
- Pudding
These kinds of food are perfect because they require very little or no chewing. So, you can try them out. However, try using the other side of the teeth when eating these foods. For example, if one of your wisdom teeth is the site that was removed, use the wisdom tooth on the other side for chewing.
2 Days to 5 Days after Tooth Extraction
You can take things a step further at this point. The area of the extracted tooth is now in a better state. You still have to be selective and some of the perfect kinds of food at this stage include:
- Pasta
- Bread
- Mashed potato (and other soft vegetable foods)
- Lasagna
- Noodles
The truth is that your dentist may even permit eating these foods even before now. However, this is more like a general recommendation.
Related Read: How to Stop Tooth Pain Fast at Home
5 Days to 1 Week
You should be able to eat even hard-textured foods and do more chewing by now. Some food options include – Ground beef and Chicken.
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