Dental implants are a great way to replace missing teeth and restore your smile. But after the surgery, it’s important to be mindful of what you’re eating in order to keep your teeth healthy and your implants in good condition.
In the days and weeks after the procedure, it’s best to stick to softer, easier-to-chew foods while your mouth heals. After that, you can gradually return to your regular diet. In this article, we’ll discuss what foods you can eat after a dental implant surgery and provide tips for taking care of your teeth and implants.
What is Dental Implant Surgery?
Dental implants are small titanium posts that are placed into the jawbone. They are then attached to a tooth-replacement crown. Once the implants have attached to the bone and healed, the posts can be used to attach a crown that looks, feels, and functions like a natural tooth.
Dental implants are best for patients who have healthy mouths, healthy gums, and healthy teeth; patients who have had teeth pulled due to decay or other issues should wait until their oral health is restored before getting dental implants.
There are two types of dental implant surgery: single-implant surgery and multi-implant surgery. Single-implant surgery is for patients who have one missing tooth or one missing tooth and nearby teeth that can be preserved. Single-implant surgery involves placing one titanium post into the jawbone to support a tooth-replacement crown. Multi-implant surgery is for patients who have multiple missing teeth. In this case, multiple titanium posts are placed in the jawbone to support a series of tooth-replacement crowns.
What to Eat After Dental Implant Surgery
After surgery, it’s best to choose foods that are soft and don’t require a lot of chewing. This helps keep the dental implants in place, as well as helps avoid you biting your cheek or tongue due to numbing agents used. Here is a list of foods to choose from:
- Ice cream
- Applesauce
- Smoothies
- Protein Drinks
- Pudding
- Soups/Broth (nothing chunky)
- Mashed Potatoes
- Cooked Vegetables
- Eggs
- Pasta
- Pancakes
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Oatmeal
- Sweet potatoes
In general, you should eat a healthy, balanced diet after dental implant surgery. But it’s also important to avoid certain foods in the days that follow the surgery. Here are some tips for eating after dental implant surgery:
Eat soft foods - After dental implant surgery, your gums will be very sensitive. You’ll want to eat foods that are soft, easy to chew and take the least amount of effort to get down your throat.
Stick to easy-to-swallow foods - Foods that are easy to chew aren’t always easy to swallow. Avoid things like steak, chicken with bones, and other foods that may get stuck in your throat. Instead of eating a regular steak, for example, try eating a bowl of steak and potato soup.
Avoid spicy and acidic foods - Foods that are spicy and acidic will make your mouth and gums hurt. Avoid things like peppers, jalapenos, and other spicy foods. You can also avoid citrus fruits, like oranges, and acidic foods, like tomato sauce.
Stay away from hard or crunchy foods - Your gums will be very sensitive, and hard or crunchy foods will hurt them.
Avoid hot and cold foods - When you have a cut in your mouth, you don’t want to introduce hot or cold foods.
Tips for Caring for Your Teeth After Dental Implant Surgery
Keep your mouth clean - You should always keep your mouth clean, but after dental implant surgery, it’s even more important. Be sure to rinse your mouth out with water after every meal and snack. You can also use mouthwash to kill bacteria.
- Clean your teeth - Brush your teeth after every meal and snack to prevent bacteria from building up on your teeth and gums. You can also use floss to remove food particles and bacteria from between your teeth.
- Re-brushing your teeth is actually bad for them. It can irritate your gums and make it more difficult for your implants to attach to your jawbone.
- Take a multivitamin - After dental implant surgery, you’re going to be healing and excreting a lot of bacteria. Taking a multivitamin can help prevent deficiencies caused by all these extra bacteria.
Dental Implants in Westport
Dental implants improve your smile and are extremely durable. While the benefits are plentiful, the main reasons dentists recommend dental implants is because they replace teeth above and below the gum line – whereas bridges and dentures only replace visible portions of teeth.
Our practice provides a variety of types of dental implant restoration. Contact us today at 203-227-6338 to learn more and schedule an appointment.