After you’ve had dental surgery, you must let yourself recover. But to maximize recovery, it’s vital to maintain good nutrition. To heal and repair, the body needs nutrients to build back tissues. But you can’t just go back to your regular diet; the forces exerted while chewing food can be enough to dislodge blood clots or stitches that are essential for healing. So, to help you make good nutrition choices and speed up your recovery, we’ve compiled a list of 50 soft foods to eat after dental surgery.
Some foods may include instructions to soak them before eating, usually in milk or broth – and this can be a great way to consume the foods you love and not omit them from your diet while you recover. For example, soaking bread in a rich soup will form a nutritious, healthy snack while being filling. It will also be soft enough to eat without risking harm to your mouth.
50 Soft Foods To Eat After Dental Surgery
- Applesauce
- Avocado
- Baby food
- Baked beans
- Bananas
- Biscuits – soaked or soft biscuits only
- Bread – soaking in a soup can make for a delicious, filling snack
- Broth – warm, not hot
- Cheesecake
- Clams
- Cold cereal – soaked until soft
- Cookies – soaked in milk
- Cottage cheese
- Custard
- Deli meats
- Eggs
- Fish
- Greek yogurt
- Ground chicken
- Hummus
- Ice cream
- Jello
- Juice
- Macaroni and cheese
- Mangos
- Mashed potatoes
- Mashed vegetables
- Meatballs
- Meatloaf
- Milkshakes – make sure to consume using a spoon, not a straw
- Mousse
- Oatmeal – warm oatmeal can be a filling, nutritious food that doesn’t require effort to chew
- Popsicles
- Pudding
- Pumpkin
- Rice
- Risotto
- Salmon
- Semolina
- Sherbet
- Smoothies – avoid including nuts, seeds, or ice
- Soups
- Spaghetti
- Sweetbreads
- Tapioca
- Tea
- Tofu
- Vegetables – only steamed or well-cooked
- Waffles – can be soaked
- Yogurt
Dos and Don’ts
As an added tip, here are some tips to aid your recovery from surgery, based on our vast experience with performing tooth extractions, implants, and root canals.
- Do drink lots of water. Staying hydrated will allow your body to heal faster.
- Do gently rinse your mouth with warm, salty water to ease pain and swelling. Make sure to rinse gently and not vigorously.
- Do not use a straw for drinking for at least 7-10 days after your surgery. Sucking on a straw creates pressure that can dislodge a blood clot from a socket, leading to a painful condition known as a dry socket.
- Do not drink alcoholic, caffeinated, carbonated, or hot beverages.
- Do not eat spicy foods, as this can inflame and irritate the gums.
- Do not eat or drink acidic food or beverages, as this can irritate the tissues and the recovering surgical site.
- Do not smoke for at least 48 hours after the surgery, and stop smoking in general. Smoking releases toxins in the mouth that can irritate the delicate healing tissues.
Conclusion
At Katy Cypress Oral Surgery, we understand the concern that patients feel about recovering from surgery. Our significant experience in oral surgery has led us to adopt the best practices for delivering patient aftercare. And if you have any questions or concerns, our dedicated dental team will be happy to help. So, feel free to give us a call at (281) 667-0607, and we’d love to see you.
We look forward to having you schedule your oral surgery appointment with us and see firsthand the difference that a skilled, compassionate team can make.