Soft Foods to Eat After Oral Surgery

Your oral surgery is over and now you are on the way home. You have your prescriptions for an antibiotic and for pain medication. You might feel numb and a little disoriented, and you may be craving something to drink or eat.

Two points are essential in choosing foods to eat after oral surgery. First, you must not disturb the blood clot from forming where the tooth was extracted or where the surgery took place. Second, you will want to nourish your body with proper hydration, nutrients, vitamins and minerals so the healing process can start.

Foods to Avoid After a Tooth Extraction or Oral Surgery

After your surgery, be sure to avoid foods that can irritate the surgical site, disturb the forming blood clot and even cause damage. These include:

• Hard food.
• Hot food.
• Food with crust, seeds or anything crunchy.
• Chewy food.
• Caffeine.
• Carbonated beverages.
• Alcohol.
• Spicy food.
• Acidic food, including citric fruit juices.
• Crunchy snacks such as popcorn, peanut brittle, potato chips, crackers, cookies and pretzels.
• Bagels and bread products.
• Rice and other grains.
• Fish oil, garlic, turmeric and other supplements that promote bleeding. If you are unsure about a supplement or vitamin, ask your oral surgeon.

You will also want to avoid cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products after your surgery. The movement of your mouth when you smoke can disturb blood clot formation. For the same reason, you should not drink through a straw.

Avoid exercise, including any bending that involves lowering your head below your shoulders, for two weeks after your surgery. You can speak with your oral surgeon about when you can return to your active lifestyle.

Foods to Eat After Oral Surgery

Eating soft foods is essential following surgery. These soft foods to eat after mouth surgery will provide proper nutrition and hydration to your body to support it as you heal:

• Apple sauce
• Greek yogurt
• Soup
• Scrambled eggs without bread products
• Jello
• Mashed banana, avocado and other soft fruits
• Mashed potatoes
• Well-cooked vegetables
• Fish, including sashimi with no rice
• Pasta
• Smoothies
• Ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet
• Oatmeal
• Tofu
• Hummus
• Beans
• Pancakes

Additional Tips to Promote Healing

In addition to eating soft foods after oral surgery, you will want to promote healing by taking your medication as prescribed and following any directions your oral surgeon has given you. For the first 48 hours, ice the surgical area, leaving the ice on for 10 minutes and removing it for the same length of time before reapplying. The cold temperature will help you manage any pain.

You may experience some bleeding at the surgical site. You can control the bleeding by placing gauze over the area and biting gently to apply pressure for about 20 minutes. If you do not have gauze, you can use a wet tea bag.

For the first two or three days after a tooth extraction or oral surgery, get additional rest and avoid exertion. When you lay down, keep your head elevated. You can further support your recovery by drinking 16-32 ounces of water daily and by taking calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C and zinc to promote healing.

Do You Need Oral Surgery?

If you need oral surgery, make an appointment with 209 NYC Dental. Under the care of our board-certified periodontist and implantologist, Dr. Jin Wang, our patients have easy recoveries from their various surgical procedures.

Whether you need a gingival graft, extraction or implant placement, we will make sure that your procedure is as pleasant as possible and that your recovery is quick and complete. If you have any questions during recovery, our team will be here to offer support.

Contact us about an appointment today or give us a call at 212-355-2290.