After any dental surgery, one should avoid regular food and have something soft. Consequently, we have created a list of soft foods to eat after oral surgery.
These foods will not hurt you but they will help your wound to heal.
List of soft foods to eat after oral surgery
- Apple-Made Soft Diet Recipes
Apples contains lots of vitamin C, antioxidants and dietary fiber. These fruits will help you in healing. They also prevents soreness and make you feel full too.
You can blend apples and turn them it into applesauce. You can also bake them since baked apples are also good since minimal jaw movement is needed once they soften adequately.
- Beans Are Nutritious Soft Diet Foods
Beans are known as super foods. This is because they are good sources of protein which helps you heal faster. They are also great sources of fiber which fills you up and makes you regular.
You can bake the beans, mash them with potatoes and even use them to make soups.
- Fruits Are Healing Soft Foods
Fruits are great when you are sick and need to heal quickly because of their numerous nutrients. They are also soft and easy to digest.
Avocadoes, bananas, mangoes, melons (very ripe), sapota are excellent examples of such fruits. You can make into their sauce like cranberry sauce or you can also grind them into a fine paste.
Fruit juices and smoothies are other excellent options since they provide healing and filling snacks. You do not even have to add sugar if you use naturally sweet fruits like bananas and berries.
- Eggs Are Source Of Protein
Eggs (poached, fried or scrambled), eggnog, egg noodles (cooked softly), egg salad, scrambled eggs, egg puddings, mousse, soufflé all are soft, nutritious and tasty. Since they are also rich in protein, they also make you feel full.
- Milk And Dairy Products Are Healing Powerhouses
All types of cheese, crème brule, custard and milk products can be consumed after oral surgery. Make sure that you are lactose tolerant before taking them.
Milkshakes are also great but avoid using a straw.
- Frozen Food Calms Aches
Cold cereal (soaked in milk until it is soft), frozen yogurt and kefir are other nutritious foods which can soothe the pain after surgery.
- Porridge Is Filling
Porridge made from whole grains, cabbage, pumpkin and even beans is full of all sorts of nutrients that your body needs after surgery. They are also filling foods which can be consumed with other veggies and meat.
- Vegetable Are A Source Of Minerals And Water
Butternut squash, carrots, yellow squash, broccoli, potatoes and spinach are all rich in healing vitamins and minerals. You can steam them or saute them or boil them until they are super soft. You can also blend them to create vegetable juice.
- Soup And Gravy
Soups are the best soft food recipes for the elderly. Regardless of whether you prepare a broth, gravy or stew, you will have a tasty nutritious liquid that you do not have to chew.
- Other Drinks
Other drinks like tea and sherbet can be nice snacks for those who have undergone oral surgery. Try to look for herbal that will boost your general health.
- Protein Source (Meat)
Once you can move your jaw a bit, start having ground meat and fish.
- Flour Food Provides Needed Energy
Biscuits (flakey, soft or soaked to become soft), cheesecake, cake, cupcake, pancakes, doughnuts, muffins, pies can be good food for teeth that cannot chew well.
Maybe, not instantly but after a few days you can begin eating some of these foods since they will provide you will needed carbs and other nutrients as well as give your jaws some exercise. You can also try pasta (cooked very soft).
- Grainy Food
Depending on the type of dental surgery you have undergone, you can also eat rice dishes, oatmeal, grits, soaked bread, noodles and cream of wheat.
Foods To Avoid
Following dental surgery, implants or wisdom teeth extractions you should avoid the following foods.
- Tomatoes- Tomato sauce or the fruit itself is acidic. It may therefore burn your wound or cause pain immediately after dental surgery.
- Oranges – Same goes for oranges or any other acidic fruits like lemons and tamarinds.
- Seeds – Anything with seeds no matter how small, can get stuck in a surgical site and cause discomfort or get infected. Therefore when eating fruits with seeds like strawberries or watermelon, remove all the seeds first.
- Peppers – Avoid them since they have seeds and cause pain to the wound site.
- Popcorn – Do not eat them since the corn hulls can lodge in the cut.
- Spicy Foods – These will cause utter discomfort and they may inflame your surgery
- Crunchy or Difficult to Chew Foods – They are painful and may interfere with the blood clotting needed after dental surgery.
- One Special Thing To Avoid- Over-the-counter mouth rinses can significantly interfere with healing. Dentists usually prescribe a safe mouth rinse that contains chlorhexidine gluconate (Peridex) since it is safe following dental surgery.
After surgery, you should be careful for the first few days and follow all the recommendations of your dentist or you will end up getting hurt and sick. You can also use this list to plan your diet.