When Can I Eat Normal Food After Wisdom Teeth Removal

There are many foods and drinks that you should refrain yourself from eating after wisdom teeth removal.

These are the meals that are an enemy of your surgery site, and consuming them can leave several complications in your mouth.

So, you might be thinking:

When can I eat normal food after wisdom teeth removal? 

And what (and what not to) eat or drink after the surgery.

It is always recommended to be cautious while eating after the surgery.

Let’s find out the answers to all these questions:

When Can I Eat Normal Food After Wisdom Teeth Removal

After 7 – 10 days of your teeth removal, you can start having normal food.

These normal foods include fruits, bread, cake, coffee, juices, etc.

Also, do not bite the solid foods with your extraction site until the wounds are healed.

Be cautious while eating because the gum wounds take a pretty long time to heal after surgery.

Never take the regular food in the starting days of surgery, or you’ll end up worsening the condition.

What to eat after the first day of wisdom teeth removal?

You need to be strictly cautious on the first day of surgery. That is, only soft and limited amounts of food are allowed on the first day.

Take foods that don’t need to be chewed. Such foods can save you from some pain.

Avoid eating solid foods, as these might damage, or get stuck in the recovering area.

Here are the foods that you can take on the first day after the extraction:

• Apple sauce
• Mashed potatoes
• Smoothies
• Broths and blended soups
• Yogurt
• Jell-O
• Pudding
• Ice-cream

Cold foods like smoothies, Jell-o, and ice cream may relieve some discomfort. Nutrient and energy-rich soups and smoothies can help speed up the healing process.

You can also choose other foods that are easy to consume and do not need to get bitten.

Note: Do not take too hot or spicy soups as they can injure your surgery site. Take all these foods at a lukewarm temperature. For the first few days after the tooth extraction, you shouldn’t eat with the purpose of its taste but to provide energy and nutrients to your body without affecting your tooth extraction site.

What can I eat after 24 hours of wisdom teeth removal?

Wounds start healing on the second day of surgery, so you can start moving from soft to semi-soft foods.

As you start to heal, you can move to regular foods. Start light with semi-soft foods that are safe for your extraction site.

The semi-soft foods you can take after 24 hours include:

• Seedless
• Pureed fruit
• Pureed or mashed vegetables (carrot, squash)
• Banana ice cream
• Scrambled eggs
• Macaroni and cheese
• Toast with butter
• Instant oatmeal
• Avocados
• Cottage cheese
• Hummus (Without chips)
• Bananas( Mashed)

You can take these foods from the second day to the one week after the wisdom teeth extraction.

Which foods should I avoid after wisdom teeth removal?

The following information explains what you can and can’t eat in starting days and weeks of extraction.

For 3 to 5 days:

Don’t spit and avoid the use of straw for 3 to 5 days after surgery. These create suction force in your mouth, which increases the risk of developing a dry socket – a condition where the clot becomes dislodged.

Also, say no to smoking for 5 – 7 days, as nicotine in cigarettes affects the healing process and prolongs recovery time. Do not smoke or chew tobacco for at least a week.

After the seven days of your surgery, start to rinse your extraction site to free the area from debris, food, and blood.

Do not rinse too often, or you may affect the healing process.

For one week or more:

For the first week, the surgery site will be tender and vulnerable to infection. You need to avoid foods that irritate the extraction site or possibly lead to complications.

The foods that you should avoid are:

• Crumbly, crunch, or chewy foods( jerky, popcorn, hamburgers, pizza, etc.)
• Grains (rice, quinoa)
• Alcohol
• Seeds
• Chewing gum
• Hot, spicy foods and drinks
• Solid or difficult to chew foods

Note: Not only foods, but you should also avoid the wrong way of eating and drinking after wisdom teeth extraction.

For two week or more:

You may not live without the snack foods, but you should remove them from your diet for a couple of days. These might be stuck in the wound and disrupt healing.

Such foods include:

• Chips
• Popcorn
• Nuts (walnuts, almonds)
• Lays
• Pringles

What happens if you eat solid food after the wisdom teeth removal?

Solid foods, as mentioned above, are the enemy of your healing site. Thus, You should avoid it as much as you can until the wounds are healed.

If you don’t take any precautions and eat the prohibited foods, you can suffer from the following conditions.

Dry sockets

A dry socket is a pretty severe condition that can take place when you eat solid food earlier. They occur when the blood does not clot in the tooth socket or the clot gets dislodged.

That usually happens between 3 and 5 days after wisdom tooth removal.

But luckily, dry sockets can be treated by your surgeon. They’ll flush out debris and cover the socket with dressing.

The followings are the typical symptoms of dry socket:

• An unpleasant smell or taste from the socket
• Aching or severe pain in the gum or jaw
• Exposed bone

Infections

Infections can be caused by food particles or other bacteria in the extraction site. Bacteria can even spread throughout the body and should be treated quickly.

Symptoms of the infection can include:

• Fever, Chills
• Spasm of the jaw muscles
• Painful or swollen gums
• Bad taste or smell in the mouth
• Blood or pus from the surgery site

Delayed healing time

One of the biggest problems that you can encounter by eating solid food is the extended healing time.

That is, eating hard and other restricted foods can lengthen your recovery process, and you may have to stick with only soft foods for a few more weeks!

Hence why it is highly recommended to avoid the prohibited food items to let the surgery site heal quicker, and you may start eating in a few days.

How to eat after wisdom teeth removal?

How you eat after tooth extraction matters a lot!

Try not to eat with the extraction site. Eat from the alternate side of your mouth.

Don’t let the food stick to the surgery site.

How to drink after wisdom teeth removal?

Do not use straws or any method which requires suction to drink.

Drink using glass and try not to touch or put force over the surgery site.

Also, don’t spit the liquid with force, as that can also lengthen the recovery time.

When can I eat after wisdom teeth removal?

You don’t stop eating after wisdom teeth removal and can take food to energize your body.

In fact, it is highly recommended to eat something after surgery to surpass weakness and tiredness.

However, you have to be careful about what you eat, or you can face many difficulties, as said above.

But, if you are taking soft foods, then there is no need to worry about anything!

When can I eat chicken after wisdom teeth removal?

Chicken is one of the favorite foods of today’s generation, but unfortunately, you cannot have chicken and even other hard and chewy meats for at least one week after surgery.

Instead of chicken, you can eat flaky fish or tofu, as they are soft and delicious too.

What can I drink after wisdom teeth removal?

Re-hydration is very important after wisdom teeth removal.

Water, milk, juice are best to re-hydrate after surgery.

Avoid soda, fizzy drinks, lemonade for a couple of days after the extraction.

Should I remove the gauze before eating?

It is not recommended, but you should remove the gauze before eating or drinking anything.

It’s just because of your easiness, as you cannot eat while having gauze in your mouth.

But you won’t have to remove gauze if it is small, and you can eat or drink with another side of your mouth.

In simple, it’s all up to your easiness!

Never use a toothpick over the surgery site!

Avoid the use of a toothpick or your fingers even if food is stick to your surgery site.

Try to remove the particles by rinsing with slight force.

Consult with your dentist if the stuck particles are still not removing and you’re getting pain from it.

The Bottom Line

Eating and drinking is a typical action of our life, and you should not stop it even after wisdom teeth surgery.

In simple, you can still eat, drink and give energy to your body by taking soft and prescribed foods for a couple of days.

All in all, we hope you’ve understood what you can and can’t eat and other useful information regarding wisdom teeth extraction.