Oral health is important for every single person and so it’s a good idea to take the after-care after getting treated seriously. Doing this involves eating the right diet and improving your oral health care routine. Even before you get a treatment done, you should start practicing good oral health measures. These involve brushing and flossing your teeth regularly and the right way.
It’s also important for you to know the signs of a potential oral health issue, and some signs are experiencing orofacial pain, having back right gum pain, and more. When these occur, you could search online along the lines of “back of front teeth gums hurt” and “back of my teeth hurt” or even “back of gum swollen on one side.” The results that come up shouldn’t replace the opinion of a qualified dentist, however, so make sure to see one and listen to their opinion.
When they look at your teeth and advise you, you need to take this advice seriously and follow the instructions you’re given. Doing this is going to help you maintain great oral health and heal from any procedure that you undergo effectively. You should then maintain your newly-found oral health by taking the right oral health care measures.
Dental surgery is a common need for many people, albeit an often frustrating or painful one. However, too many people don’t adjust their diets after these procedures and end up experiencing excessive mouth pain that they could have easily avoided with just a few simple changes in the foods they cook. These simple changes don’t have to be anything drastic but do help minimize this problem effectively.
Thankfully, there are many types of good food to eat after dental surgery that you can consider for your needs. Each of these options is quite tasty and will minimize the potential for mouth pain. Ensure to also read through our list of foods you should not eat after surgery to create a coherent meal plan. And always feel comfortable adjust your project if you find it doesn’t work as well as you’d hoped.
Foods You Should Avoid
When trying to find good food to eat after dental surgery, you’re going to find yourself unable to eat many of your favorite foods for many reasons. This situation is often quite frustrating but unavoidable. By understanding what foods you cannot eat, it should be easier for you to transition to the options that you can safely enjoy. The following items should all be avoided during this period:
- Pizzas – The tomato sauce and the meat on many pizza pies can severely damage your teeth if left too long. And the tomatoes will cause pain in your mouth after you eat, requiring you to cut out pizza for a while. We know this will be hard for some people, but it is worth it.
- Citrus Fruits – Try to avoid any citrus fruits in your diet while you’re recovering from oral surgery. Dentists worldwide will tell you that the acid in oranges, melons, and other items will cause significant discomfort in your mouth. And orange juice is also a no-go.
- Many Types of Healthy Snacks – While foods like popcorn, cracked pepper, and seeds are healthy alternatives to many snacks, you should not eat them after dental surgery. If you do, there’s a good chance that you’ll be calling an urgent care center to get help with the mouth pain it triggers.
- Your Favorite Spicy Foods – If you love spicy Mexican or Thai foods, you’re going to want to steer clear of them until your mouth recovers. It would be best if you also avoided spicy sauces, salsas, and more. Doing so helps your mouth and minimizes your need for extra dental health care after your surgery.
- Crunchy Foods – Foods that may stick to your teeth should be avoided, as should crunch items. In addition, such things as carrots or celery sticks, peanut butter, and other items that tend to get in between and on your teeth should be avoided while recovering from your dental surgery procedure.
- Other Items to Avoid – Try to stay away from alcoholic beverages, any drinks with a high level of acid, and over-the-counter mouth rinses. These are likely to cause excessive pain in your mouth after surgery. Thankfully, your dentist can provide you with a mouthwash that works for your needs.
Whether you went in for root canal treatment or any other type of surgery, you must make sure to avoid these foods to keep your mouth healthy and safe. Talk to your dental professional and your dietitian to learn more about your options here. They’ll give you a better chance of creating an eating pattern that makes sense for you as you go through this lengthy recovery period.
And now that you understand what foods you should avoid, it is time to transition to good food to eat after dental surgery. Many of these foods will require cooking to soften them up a little or may be something you can eat as-is. Again, we have arranged these items in no particular order, so ensure that you read through the whole list to find an option you enjoy the most after surgery.
Beans of All Types – A Great Option for Dental Pain
Of all the excellent food to eat after dental surgery, beans are probably the most diverse. You can use beans in just about any meal to get an incredible taste that you’ll love. And when soaked and appropriately prepared, they are very soft and won’t hurt your mouth. Just a few ways to serve beans include as:
- Salads – High-quality beans often go perfectly on many salads, offering you many chances to create a mouth-friendly meal. Soak your beans for as long as suggested to get the best results. And be prepared to make a considerable amount to provide you with the help needed to manage this problem.
- Sides – A small amount of flavored beans (add spices or any other items that won’t affect your mouth pain) works well as a great side to many dishes. Try to add just enough that you don’t get sick of them, as some people may find that beans end up becoming fatiguing in a diet after a while.
- Soups – Soak your beans and cook them in a large pot to serve as soup. Add various ingredients, like carrots, celery, green onions, and chicken to add to the flavor. Bean soup is often one of the best options for saving and paired with many other meals or eaten alone as a single dish.
- Main Dishes – When you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to cook, just prepare beans as the main dish. Flavor them with whatever seasonings you like, paying particular attention to acidic or discomfort. Adjust your dishes temporarily to minimize any dental pain problems.
Try to pick beans you know you enjoy before starting using them as good food to eat after dental surgery. And try to alter them with other types of foods, as well, to avoid getting sick of them. Thankfully, they should be diverse enough to use in just about any meal situation.
Casseroles – Perfect for Many Taste Options
Casseroles are an incredible meal option that provides you with a surprising amount of good food to eat after dental surgery. When properly prepared and cooked, they can include great carbohydrates, various types of soft vegetables, and much more. And preparing them properly is surprisingly easy, especially when considering dental protection. Just a few steps that you can take here include how you can:
- Choose the Base Item – A good casserole needs a base item around which you can base the rest of the meal. For example, a chicken casserole is a good option because it can utilize a soft ground chicken and provide your teeth with the best chance of avoiding damage after serious dental surgery.
- Pick Other Ingredients – A healthy casserole usually needs various other ingredients that help to support its taste. Try to pick carrots, broccoli, and other vegetables and carefully steam them. You can also add an Alfredo sauce or a similar option, as long as it doesn’t have too much acid in its design.
- Select an Appropriate Cooking Time – The trickiest part about preparing a great casserole is choosing a cooking time. You need at least 30-40 minutes to get the best level of softness for your teeth. However, longer times may produce softer results, though some may find them a bit too mushy at that point.
As you can see, this process should help you create great casseroles that work well for your needs. Don’t be afraid to integrate items like rice or other flavorings into your casserole to produce a super meal. You can talk to your doctor or dietitian, as well, to see if such changes fit into your Medicare health insurance plan. Then, you can create meals that work around any possible limitations.
Pasta – Healthy for Your Teeth
When looking for good food to eat after dental surgery, you need to consider pasta as an excellent meal option seriously. Pasta is among the most diverse types of meals, allowing you to add many ingredients and other items. And the pasta itself should be pretty soft to the teeth, making it easy to integrate into many diets without running into too many difficulties that may otherwise impact your meals.
When using pasta in this way, make sure that you pay attention to the type of noodles that you use. Some may not be an excellent option for dental pay. And also, cook the pasta as much as possible to avoid injury. A hard piece of shell could easily crack in your mouth and make rehab centers necessary for your recovery. Thankfully, you can usually easily prevent this problem by sticking to egg noodles or Fettuccine.
What about additions to your pasta mix? You can usually add items like fish (mainly tuna), ground meats (turkey, beef, pork, and chicken), and a butter topping with some Parmesan cheese. You’ll need to avoid tomato-based sauces, as mentioned, and harder meats like sausage. And if you integrate vegetables, steam them first before serving to make them as soft as possible for your needs.
It would be best if you also avoided too many salad toppings, like croutons or bacon bits. These can easily crack your teeth or get into your surgery wound and cause a lot of pain. If you have a hard time eating pasta without toppings like these, you can usually integrate things like softer fruits. Generally, though, we suggest cutting such items entirely and getting your fruit through a carefully blended juice.
Other Good Food to Eat After Dental Surgery
While we’ve already highlighted a few different ingredients and meals that should work perfectly as good food to eat after dental surgery, many other ingredients and meals did not fit into any of the categories mentioned above. Thankfully, we can easily integrate this list here to help make it more understandable for your needs. Just a few to consider include:
- Avocado, especially when mashed into a nice paste
- Bottled water that keeps your teeth strong and healthy
- Breakfast drinks with minimal calories or acid
- Baked apples carefully prepared to minimize hardness
- Baby food if you don’t mind their unique taste
- Various types of cheese carefully cut up into small bits
- Cold cereal carefully soaked in milk until entirely soft
- Soft Jello and pudding chose for taste
- White or brown rice cooked until completely soft and pliable
- Scrambled eggs flavored with more delicate cheeses
- Blended smoothies that help to keep your nutrients high
- Soup with very carefully prepared and tender ingredients
- Bread soaked in soup or other items to make it softer
- Sour cream and other similar toppings to add flavor
- Spaghetti or other noodles carefully softened
- All types of steamed vegetables that are soft and pliable
- Sweet potatoes carefully mashed for maximum taste
Thankfully, it should be easy to go to a shopping center to find many of these ingredients. Try to buy as many of these items as possible and integrate them into your recovery diet. Prepare them in whatever way makes sense for your taste and your teeth pain. Also, try to make sure that you create meals that you’ll enjoy and which appeal to your family as well.
And don’t forget daily teeth cleanings after every meal. When you carefully clean your teeth in this way, you help yourself recover from dental surgery more efficiently. You can also cut back on the type of pain medication you use and ensure that you are ultimately okay after your surgery. So please pay attention to these options and create a meal plan that you know that you’ll love.
As you can see, there are many options for good food to eat after dental surgery that you can utilize to help your teeth stay strong. When you carefully pick these items and prepare them properly, you give yourself the best chance of avoiding long-term dental damage. Thankfully, there are many other options that you can consider, which we had no place to put here. So, if you’re looking for good food to eat after dental surgery, you should have no difficulty finding an option that makes the most sense for you.
