The Best Foods to Eat After Dental Implant Surgery

When you choose to get dental implants for missing teeth, part of this process involves surgery. Dentists need to do this in order to place an implant into your jawbone, so that it helps hold your replacement tooth in position. After going through dental implant surgery in Mesa, you’ll need to be careful about the foods you eat. Keep the following in mind to help ensure that you heal properly after your procedure.

What to Expect After Dental Implant Surgery

When you have dental implant surgery, you won’t be able to eat right afterwards. You’ll most likely have gauze in your mouth to help stop bleeding and allow clots to form. You should leave the gauze in for as long as your dentist recommends. Once you remove it, you’ll be able to have cool liquids for a day or two before eating again. After having this type of surgery, you can expect to be on a soft food diet for a few months as your jaw heals. A soft diet helps reduce the risk of problems during the healing process, so that you can have your permanent replacement tooth put in place.

Foods You Don’t Have to Chew

Foods You Don’t Have to ChewDuring the early part of the healing process, you should stick to foods that you don’t have to chew. This helps prevent you from putting too much pressure on the surgical site, which could affect healing. Foods that you don’t have to chew include the following:

Soft Foods

Soft FoodsWhen you’re able to chew foods again, it’s important to avoid consuming foods that are tough to chew. These foods can make it harder for your jaw to heal properly. You should also avoid eating foods that are hard and crunchy for the same reason. Soft foods allow you to have plenty to eat while also giving your jaw time to heal. To ensure that you’re getting a well-balanced, nutritious diet while recovering from dental implant surgery, consider eating the following soft foods.

Proteins

Proteins are important for the healing process, but you should avoid protein sources that are hard to chew or bite into, such as steak or sub sandwiches with meat. Soft or non-chewy protein sources include:

Grains

Whole grains provide healthy nutrients that can help your body heal. Avoid eating grains that are too hard to chew, such as bread with thick crust, pizza crust, and pretzels. Instead, consider having the following grains:

Fruits and Vegetables

Having plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet is important in general, but it’s even more so when you need to heal after surgery. Avoid having fruits and vegetable that are crunchy or difficult to chew, such as raw apples and carrots or corn on the cob. You should also avoid having fruits with seeds, such as strawberries. You can get the nutrients you need while also allowing your jaw to heal with the following fruits and vegetables:

Foods to Avoid

Foods to AvoidIn addition to staying away from foods that are crunchy or tough and chewy, you should also be careful about food temperature. Avoid eating foods that are hot or steaming, since exposure to these temperatures could injure jaw tissue while it’s healing. Give hot foods and beverages enough time to cool before eating or drinking them.

Resuming Your Normal Diet

When can you go back to eating regular foods after dental implant surgery? Our dentists will let you know when it’s safe to return to your normal diet. This typically happens once your jaw tissue has had enough time to fully heal. Keep in mind that you should still take good care of your natural teeth and dental implants on an ongoing basis by eating foods that are good for dental health and avoiding sugary and starchy foods, which can increase your risk of tooth decay.

Conclusion

If you need more information on dental implants, please contact Dental Brothers. Our dentists in Phoenix and Mesa offer dental implant surgery to replace missing teeth and restore your smile.

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