What to Eat After Wisdom Teeth Extraction?
Following wisdom teeth extraction, it’s important to adhere to aftercare instructions that are designed to help the mouth heal. Your dentist will provide guidance on how to keep your oral cavity clean and how to prevent dry sockets and infection, and they’ll also provide dietary parameters that support effective healing. Certain foods are more likely to cause irritation or leave behind debris that could get trapped in the surgical sites, introducing bacteria and increasing the potential for infection. For the first couple of days after wisdom teeth extraction, it’s important to stick to a diet of liquids and very soft foods. For example, yogurt and apple sauce are two safe ways to consume nutrients after extraction, and ice cream can provide calories while soothing recovering soft tissues. As recovery progresses, more and more solid foods can be introduced into the diet, though it’s important to switch back to softer foods if chewing more substantial foods causes any pain. In most cases, a normal diet can be resumed after about a week. If you’re curious about what to eat after wisdom teeth extraction, know that your dentist will review your options with you and provide written instructions on how to support your own healing. As you plan for your wisdom teeth procedure, here are some ideas.
What Should I Eat on Day One and Day Two?
You’ll want to avoid eating as the anesthesia wears off following your wisdom teeth extraction. Once you’re able to eat, stick to liquids like smoothies, broths, pureed soups, apple sauce, yogurt, pudding, and jello. While you may normally enjoy smoothies and milkshakes through a straw, you’ll want to avoid using a straw following wisdom teeth extraction, as the strong sucking motion used to consume thick liquids with a straw could dislodge the healing blood clots and lead to painful dry socket. You may find that cold foods relieve some of the discomfort that comes with any dental extraction, though many of these colder foods are also sweet; it’s important to balance the diet as much as possible to support healing, so make sure you also incorporate some savory foods. Vegetable-based soups and broths are particularly beneficial ways to balance high-sugar treats in the first 24 to 48 hours after wisdom teeth extraction.
What Can I Eat as I Continue to Heal?
As healing progresses, some semi-soft foods can be incorporated into the diet. Mild, softer foods like oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and mashed potatoes can be introduced around day 3, once the blood clots that protect and help heal the extraction sites have begun to form. If you are able to eat these foods without pain or irritation, gradually introduce more normal foods like chicken, vegetables, cooked beans, and fruits. While many patients can introduce a wide variety of mild foods at this point, there are some foods that should be avoided for at least a week, until the extraction site or sites have fully healed. Even if you normally enjoy spicy food, foods and drinks that are spicy or acidic could irritate the oral tissues and cause pain. Irritation can also be caused by alcoholic drinks, and over-the-counter pain medication can combine with alcohol and cause negative reactions. It’s common for grains and seeds to get trapped in dental extraction sites, and these foods should be avoided. Additionally, very hard foods and foods that are difficult to chew can damage stitches and interfere with healing; these foods should be avoided until healing is complete. After the first couple of weeks following wisdom teeth extraction, your extraction sites should have healed fully, and you may return to your regular, balanced diet.