Eating After a Simple Extraction
Following your tooth extraction, for a few days, do your best to focus on avoiding eating anything other than soft foods, items such as scrambled eggs or Jello. After a couple of days of healing, when you feel more comfortable, you can reintroduce solid foods, just not anything too crunchy, chewy, or sticky.
When Can You Eat After a Simple Tooth Extraction?
Tooth extraction will leave your mouth sore and tender, and there might be at least one or several open wounds in your gums. Any foods that tend to be hot or very cold, crunchy, sticky, or spicy, should really be avoided for at least a couple of days.
It is usually advised that if you have had a tooth extracted you practice a soft-food diet for 24-48 hours. After the soreness and tenderness subside, you can slowly introduce normal foods back into your diet.
Eating After Wisdom Teeth Removal Versus Regular Teeth Removal
Having a wisdom tooth removed or any regular tooth, the procedure, and your recovery, will be quite similar, depending primarily on any difficulty in removing the wisdom tooth.
Is A Wisdom Tooth Removal More Difficult?
Wisdom teeth can indeed be more difficult to remove because of their location, further back in the mouth, and they might not even be visible. Especially if the wisdom tooth did not erupt normally, and is impacted beneath the surface, in comparison to a normal tooth, which is at the front and completely erupted. You might now need a surgical extraction instead of a simple extraction, which will take longer to heal.
What to Eat Immediately After a Tooth Extraction
Try your best to avoid eating anything at all for the first four hours after the tooth extraction to allow for the formation of a blood clot, which is an essential part of your healing process.
You need to avoid spitting, rinsing, and even sucking on a straw as any of these motions will dislodge that crucial blood clot.
Can You Eat When Your Mouth is Still Numb?
It is in your best interests to not eat while your mouth is still numb from the anesthetic. If anything is numb, you can very easily bite your tongue or cheek and not realize it.
What to Eat in the First 24 to 48 hours
Your mouth will be sore and tender, and the extraction site will be overly sensitive. Avoid eating anything which requires excessive chewing. Some discomfort or pain after a tooth extraction is expected, but food can certainly escalate it. Try to avoid the following:
- Crunchy food like nuts, chips, or apples.
- Chewy foods, like most meats.
- Hot or cold foods or drink.
- Acids, such as citrus fruits or fizzy drinks.
- Spicy food like chilies or spicy wings.
- Any food with seeds.
- Crumbly food, like biscuits.
- Sticky items, like gum or toffee.
During this crucial healing time, you should be on a soft-food diet. This means any food which does not require extensive chewing. Smoothies, scrambled eggs, yogurt, and mashed potatoes are examples of soft foods. Also, you must avoid spitting, rinsing, or sucking during the first 24 hours.