Immediately following your wisdom teeth removal, there will be some pain and swelling. It is important to be gentle with your jaw and not disrupt the blood clot during those first few days. This risk can be lessened by eating soft or liquid foods only during those initial days.
For the first week following surgery, see some great options for foods below:
- Smoothies
- Broths or soups
- Jello
- Yogurt
- Apple sauce
- Mashed potatoes
You must follow all aftercare procedures as advised by your dental surgeon and be very gentle following your surgery. After a few days, you can slowly begin to introduce other foods, but listen to your body and go back to soft or liquid meals if you start to experience pain or discomfort. When introducing more solid foods, you can ease into it with scrambled eggs or oatmeal, rather than chips or steak.
What to Avoid
Certain foods should be avoided during your recovery, as they may disrupt your healing process. Crunchy or hard-to-chew foods such as nuts or beef jerky can reopen stitches or get stuck in the extraction site, causing pain or infection. Additionally, foods high in acidity or spice can irritate your wound and cause discomfort.
Straws are also a big no-no when it comes to healing from a wisdom teeth removal procedure. The sucking motion needed to use a straw can dislodge the blood clot and cause bleeding, pain, and a prolonged recovery. This is often called dry socket, and it can be quite painful.
Ultimately, every patient can take a different amount of time to heal fully, and we encourage you to slowly introduce foods based on your comfort level. Most sockets take about 6 weeks to heal fully following dental surgery, and you should be back to mostly normal eating habits within 3-4 weeks post-procedure.
Are you looking to get your wisdom teeth removed? Call our Glendale, Pasadena, or La Cañada locations to schedule a consultation today!
After a tooth extraction, liquid soups like tomato soups and other purees are also good choices because they do not require chewing and have no pieces that could become trapped in the sockets.
Protein shakes and smoothies made with milk or juice and some protein powder can provide nutrition. Do not use a straw to drink your smoothie or any beverage because the suction can dislodge the clots that form over the exposed sockets.
Best foods to eat after teeth removal (0 – 2 days)
As most people will be feeling very tender after the surgery it is best to stick to really soft foods. The following foods can be consumed the entire way through your recovery. Note: Immediately following surgery no hot foods should be consumed as your face will still be numb and you may burn yourself. Wait at least an hour prior to attempting warm foods.
Any foods that require no chewing
- Yogurt (frozen or normal) – No fruit bits or nuts
- Jello
- Ice cream / Sorbet / Milkshake
- Luke warm soups
- Pudding
- Eggs
- Soggy Cereal (Oatmeal)
- Well cooked pasta
Food to eat after teeth extraction (2 – 5 days)
You should be able to start returning hot food items to the menu by the second day as the blood clots will be more stable and less likely to restart bleeding.
Any foods that require minimal chewing.
- Bread
- Yogurt (frozen or normal) – Including fruit bits
- Pasta
- Noodles
- Soft vegetables – Including hot mashed potatoes
- Ground beef
- Chicken
- Mince products (Lasagna)
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Soups
Final recovery period (> 5 Days)
At this point in time you will likely be starting to feel ready to test out your mouth on some different foods. Depending on how easily your teeth came out will depend on how easy eating harder foods will go. Remember – this is only a guide and if you don’t feel comfortable eating the suggested foods then please continue with the previous stage for longer.
In this stage feel free to eat anything you are comfortable with.