A hearty meal might tempt you after a long day in the dentist's chair, but sometimes your dentist or oral surgeon will recommend eating only soft foods after specific dental procedures, like extractions and implants, to prevent damage to your teeth, gums, crown, or other prosthetic work. Learn why eating soft foods is necessary after some dental procedures and great choices for a soft food diet so you'll be ready after your procedure.
Why Soft Foods Are Necessary
Eating soft foods after dental surgery is necessary to ensure proper healing. Oral surgery can include any tooth extraction, periodontal surgery, implants, or surgery on the root of your tooth. Oral surgery requires you to stick to eating only soft foods to reduce irritation on any open wound or avoid biting with the affected tooth. Your mouth and jaw can also be sore after oral surgery.
Soft Foods to Eat After Dental Work
There are plenty of nutritious foods that don't require much chewing. The American Dental Association recommends these staples:
- Pureed or cream soups
- Oatmeal or cream of wheat
- Cottage cheese
- Soft scrambled eggs
- Yogurt
- Smoothies or shakes
- Mashed potatoes
Whether they're hot or cold, the temperature of drinks and foods can also affect your teeth. Sipping hot beverages while healing from tooth extraction may irritate the gum tissue and complicate the recovery process. Eat warm soups and drink warm drinks, not piping hot!
Soft Foods to Encourage Healing
According to the University of Michigan, eating a balanced diet of enough calories and plenty of protein can help you heal. Protein helps build and repair muscle, skin, and tissue. You can easily get lots of protein from protein powder mixed with milk or water. Or you can soup with beef or chicken broth can add more grams of protein to your meal. There are several soft fruit and veggie options to ensure you get adequate nutrition while healing. For example, you can eat mashed avocado to get the small amount of recommended healthy fat you need per day. Peaches, kiwi, and strawberries are soft and high in vitamin C, which helps repair tissues.
Soft Food Choices Throughout the Day
These restrictions don't have to mean eating the same thing every meal. While drinking milkshakes or smoothies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner are tempting, these options tend to have lots of sugar, and sugar can increase your chances of gingivitis. Here are some ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner:
Breakfast:
- Soft scrambled eggs
- Oatmeal or cream of wheat
- Low-sugar yogurt
Lunch:
- Butternut squash
- Mashed potatoes with sour cream
- Lentil soup
Dinner:
- Tilapia or other white fish with light seasoning
- Steamed soft veggies like squash or peas
- Polenta or grits
Slowly Returning to Crunchy Foods
Your dentist or oral surgeon will tell you when it's okay to start trying crunchy or hard foods like chips, cereals, or crunchy vegetables. You can ask your oral care professional for more specific instructions. It varies by the case of how long your dentist or oral surgeon may advise sticking to a soft food diet. Follow your aftercare instructions to keep your mouth healthy during the healing process and beyond.
For most common oral surgeries — wisdom teeth removal, impacted teeth removal, or even an impacted root canal — you'll be able to slowly start reintroducing most crunchy, fibrous foods back into your routine around one week post operation. But for some complicated cases, such as those with multiple impacted teeth being removed at once, you could have to eat liquid or soft foods for up to 6 weeks.
Depending on your proceducure, recovery can be long and complicated. This is not a time to fret over one's diet. Avoid nutrition labels and calorie counts while you're healing and focus on nourishing your body the best you can with soft foods while it works to get healthy again.
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Here's exactly what you can eat without irritating your gums, plus a few tips and tricks to avoid searing pain.
8 foods to eat after oral surgery
1. Fresh Smoothies
Try adding Greek yogurt into your smoothies, then tame its tang by mixing in naturally sweet additives like frozen fruit, bananas, or even cocoa powder. You probably won't be able to use a straw, so add plenty of milk, or even a bit of water, to ensure the consistency is really thin. Tilt your head back and enjoy!
2. Soups and Canned Broths
Credit: Photo: Caitlin Bensel
You probably guessed that soup would be on this list, and you’re right. But not all soups are enjoyable after oral surgery. Chicken noodle soup sounds like a safe bet, but chunky add-ins aren't a good idea until you're able to slowly move your jaw without causing pain.
For the first few days post-op, use a strainer to separate any noodles, vegetables, and meat from your soup. You can add them back into your broth after you've chopped them up (or even blended them) in order to swallow without any trouble. Of course, you can also whip up broths and soups from scratch, which gives you the control to add in as many ingredients as you'd like.
3. Eggs
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Eggs are your friend — from sheet-pan baked eggs to quiche lorraine (minus the crust). But the easiest and most delicious meal after oral surgery is a plate of soft-scrambled eggs. You'll stir these eggs until they've barely firmed, add your choice of cheese, and transfer directly to a plate. They'll continue cooking while they cool down, and alongside half an avocado, it's a hearty meal that'll make you feel happy again (trust me).
4. Cheese
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Cheese can also be a good source of probiotics, so if you're looking to snack on something, soft cheese is a great option. You should be able to swallow small pieces, and shredded cheese is a great addition to any meal you may be eating throughout your recovery. In a hurry, cottage cheese is also an excellent snack.
5. Oatmeal
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If you can't stomach another serving of eggs, instant oatmeal can be a good option for breakfast. Don't make steel-cut oats — they’re too tough to swallow whole. Instead, try this basic oatmeal recipe and add in some soft fruit such as bananas or mashed blueberries.
6. Mashed Potatoes
You may be tempted to reach for a box of instant mashed potatoes as you recover, but you can make creamy, soft, and delicious mashed potatoes at home with as little as three ingredients and a hand blender (or Vitamix). Mixing in small additions to your mashed potatoes — like herbs or even minced bacon — is a safe option, as long as you take the time to finely dice them. There are at least 21 different ways to make silky-smooth mashed potatoes at home, which should keep you busy for a while.
7. Turkey Kielbasa
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We love chicken and other lean proteins, but you'll notice they're nowhere on this list. They're just too tough to eat while recovering from oral surgery — even if you're able to find shredded chicken.
If you're looking for meat that's safe enough to swallow whole, opt for turkey kielbasa (otherwise known as Polish sausage), which is versatile enough to keep things interesting while you recover. Whether you dice some up for pan frying or simply cube it and toss it into soups or broths, turkey kielbasa is a great way to feel like you're eating a substantial meal without risk of choking.
8. Pudding, Frosting, and Sheet Cakes
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You'll be happy to hear that a whole bunch of dessert can be on the menu when you're recovering — pudding slides down your throat effortlessly, so you'll probably want to load up on a 12-pack of Jell-O. But I'm also happy to report that a frosted cake or cupcake can be managed with a spoon and some patience. Enjoy your treat with a glass of cold milk and everything will wash down easily.
6 foods to avoid after oral surgery
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1. Roasted Vegetables
Anyway you slice it or dice it, roasted vegetables are not easy to chew and swallow when you've just had oral surgery. As someone who has recovered from a tooth extraction, I can confidently say that finely chopped roasted broccoli became lodged in one of my gums after I couldn't swallow it whole. I had to fish it out with a toothbrush, and you probably will, too. You might be disappointed to hear this, but the best way to enjoy vegetables after oral surgery is to puree them into a warm soup.
2. Most Meat
Unless you're eating a chopped up slice of meatloaf (pro tip: shepherd's pie is a good choice later in your recovery), you can forget having poultry, beef, pork, or fish at mealtime. I haven't found an easy way to eat meat (it’s hard when you can’t chew), but if you attempt it at home, my advice would be to cut your protein into tiny pieces. Even then, there's a chance that chicken can turn into a choking hazard.
3. Bread
Bread is something you simply can't have during the first few days of your recovery. Toast, muffins, bagels, and crusty bread are off the menu for now, as these can do some serious damage to your gums. If your jaw and gums are feeling stronger after the first five days, sweet Hawaiian rolls are a good place to start since they’re so soft.
4. Spicy Foods
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Salt and pepper are normally a home cook's best friend, but you'll want to avoid adding these in excess if you hate lingering stinging and burning in your mouth after mealtime. Ditto for spices like cayenne pepper or chile powder.
5. Crackers, Pretzels, Chips, Seeds, Nuts, etc.
If you eat any of these at snack time, there's a good chance you'll have to give them up for up to three weeks after your procedure. The sodium content will likely irritate sensitive gums, plus, there's a good chance crunchy snacks can get stuck in any healing holes (ouch!).
6. Pasta
The only noodles you’ll be able to eat are macaroni and cheese — a lifesaver, to be honest — and overcooked wide egg noodles that have been broken into manageable pieces. Penne, rigatoni, and most other popular varieties are too rigid to swallow easily.