What to Eat After Wisdom Teeth Extraction?
As wisdom teeth extraction sites heal, helping keep them free from irritants will allow for a speedy recovery. Food particles and debris that get trapped in the surgical areas can cause infection and irritate the healing tissues, so it’s important to follow your dentist’s dietary recommendations for the duration of your healing process. Wisdom teeth extractions are performed while the patient is anesthetized, and the level of anesthesia varies from patient to patient; some patients prefer sedation or general anesthesia while others are fine with local anesthetics. Following surgery, the extraction sites are packed with gauze, which should remain in place for the recommended time period determined by your dentist, which means you won’t be able to chew for about 8-12 hours after surgery – and of course, if your dentist used local anesthesia, you shouldn’t eat until all numbness has worn off, to prevent inadvertent damage to the tongue and other soft tissues.
Once your dentist has given you the all-clear to eat and drink, start out with a diet composed primarily of liquids and very soft foods. Avoid painful chewing and foods that might crumble and leave debris in your surgical sites, focusing on things like smoothies, broths or blended soups, yogurt and smoothies, mashed potatoes, and applesauce. Maintaining good nutrition is important for healing, but occasional cold treats like ice cream or Jell-O can help soothe discomfort, and nutrient-rich soups and smoothies can help provide your body with the resources needed to heal. During the first day or two, focusing on comforting foods with soothing temperatures will help you feel more comfortable while it helps keep your oral tissues safe and protected. As you start to feel more comfortable opening your jaw and gently chewing, begin to introduce softer foods like oatmeal or scrambled eggs before graduating to fruits, vegetables, and softer proteins like chicken or fish, chewing carefully and stretching or massaging your jaw as needed.
As long as you follow your dentist’s guidelines and eat softer foods, you can modify your diet as you prefer. If you notice any pain while chewing, try reverting to a diet of softer foods for a day or two until pain subsides, and talk to your dentist if pain persists. There are some foods that should be entirely avoided for at least the first few days, if not longer, following a wisdom teeth extraction; these foods should only be introduced once healing is complete. Spicy and acidic foods, including orange juice and other citrus, can irritate the surgical sites following surgery and should be avoided. Similarly, alcohol can cause irritation, and it is also likely to have adverse interactions with whatever pain medication you may be taking. Chewy, crunchy, or tough foods, like beef jerky, chips, nuts, nougat, or caramel can break apart stitches and stick to oral tissues, interfering with healing, and smaller grains or seeds like quinoa, couscous, or sesame seeds commonly slip into extraction sites, where they become trapped and cause inflammation and infection. Avoiding these foods will help you recover promptly and completely, by reducing the risk of complications and helping you maintain a balanced, nutritious, pain-free diet. In many cases, patients are able to return to their normal diet within a week, though following dentist’s recommendations contributes significantly to this expedited timeline and is crucial for comfortable, prompt recovery.