Best Foods to Eat After a Tooth Extraction
When you’re recovering from a tooth extraction, your diet in the several days following your procedure can put you on the path to a smooth recovery or can lead to setbacks that prolong the healing process. To help you stress less about what to eat, we’ve put together this guide to the best foods to eat after a tooth extraction.
What to Eat After a Tooth Extraction
For the first 24 hours after a tooth extraction, you will be feeling some mild discomfort from the procedure. You’ll want to take it easy – stick to soft foods and stay hydrated with plenty of water.
After the first 24 hours, your comfort and nutrition continue to be key when deciding what foods to eat. We recommend sticking with nutritious foods that are easy to chew, such as: yogurt, bananas, blueberries, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pureed soups, smoothies, and applesauce. Chewing on the opposite side of the extraction site will reduce uncomfortable pressure over the wound.
What to Avoid Until You’ve Recovered From a Tooth Extraction
There are certain kinds of food you should avoid until your extraction site has healed. In general, save foods that are crunchy, chewy, hard, and brittle foods or that have small seeds for when you are recovered. For example, you should avoid eating chips, pretzels, crunchy bread, nuts, and popcorn for at least a week.
Additionally, avoid drinking through a straw and using tobacco products (we recommend quitting tobacco entirely!). And delay participating in vigorous physical activity that can increase your blood pressure. These activities can dislodge the blood clot that is necessary for your extraction site to heal. If it dislodges, you can experience a very painful condition called dry socket. Please let us know if you experience increasing pain in your extraction site, especially if it radiates up your jaw.
Do You Have More Questions? Reach Out to Our Team!
Please contact us to ask our team any questions about your recovery or an upcoming tooth extraction, or to schedule an appointment at Donald Kim, DDS, Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. We are here to help!
Tooth extraction image from Authority Dental under CC 2.0
August 29, 2022 2:48 pm