Intro
If you are planning a tooth extraction, plan ahead for your meals. You’ll be pretty sore and uncomfortable. Avoid things like spicy food or anything that can get stuck in the wound, like seeds, grains, and crumbly food.
Avoid anything chewy partly because you will be numb for a while and partly because you won’t feel like chewing anything.
Alcohol will irritate the wound and may mix badly with your pain relievers. Also avoid using a straw.
Here are some foods to eat that will help you heal after your surgery. Check out some of these tasty options!
Blended Soups
A blended soup has been pureed in a blender to remove any chunks. You can puree your favorite or try something like pumpkin, butternut, black bean and tomato.
Soups offer great nutrients and liquid to keep you hydrated. Milk or yogurt-based soups are great sources of calcium that will help you heal.
Since your mouth may still be numb and the wound is very sensitive, eat your blended soup warm or cold.
Broth
Broths are savory soups made from cooking vegetables, fish, or meat with herbs. It is usually strained before serving. Vitamins, minerals and lots of liquid – can’t ask for better!
Chicken broth is particularly good. It is an anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It’s great when you are sick and just as good when recovering from surgery.
Bone broth, made from simmering animal bones and connective tissues, is reputedly very healthy. It contains protein and minerals and may be an antioxidant.
Mashed Potatoes
When you are ready to eat something more substantial, try mashed potatoes. They are very high in calories, so you can get nutrients in just a few mouthfuls. Potatoes contain potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B6. Potassium is important in rebuilding bones and is vital to healthy cells.
Don’t worry too much about all the calories. A reasonable amount during your recovery won’t hurt since your body need calories to heal. Again, eat them lukewarm.
Scrambled Eggs
Eggs are superb packages of protein, healthy fats and other nutrients. Buy omega-3 enriched eggs as omega-3 is important to healing tissue. They are low in calories as well.
Scramble eggs in a healthy fat like coconut, olive or avocado and serve lukewarm. They are easy to eat with minimum chewing. Fried or boiled eggs can be a bit harder to eat when your wound is new. Fried eggs can be crunchy and boiled eggs could get into your wound.
Greek Yogurt
Try Greek yogurt for a cool treat that is good for you. Greek yogurt is high in protein that is a necessity for healing. It also contains calcium and zinc, both needed elements for recovery.
Greek yogurt is recommended over regular yogurt because it contains 40% less sugar and twice the protein.
You may also find yogurt cooling and very gentle on sore teeth and jaws.
Applesauce
Fruit is a food that you need for healing but may find difficult to chew. Try applesauce for a treat that is high in vitamin C that helps wounds heal.
If you make your own, chop the skin very finely and then puree the apples. The skin contains most of the good nutrients, but with care, you can turn the entire apple into a healthy treat. Avoid fruit juices because they generally have a lot of added sugar and calories.
Mashed Bananas
Mash up some bananas to give you a wide variety of vitamins and minerals needed for healing. They are fairly high in calories, so go easy on them.
You could even turn bananas into a frozen treat. Freeze three to four bananas overnight, cut into slices, and blend with milk or almond milk. Blend to a smooth consistency. This is a healthier treat than ice cream because the sugar content is far lower.
Avocados
Avocados are a unique fruit because they are low in carbs and high in healthy fats. They also have a lot of vitamin C and potassium which aid in the healing process. They are nicely mushy and can be quickly mashed if they are still too hard to chew.
Avocados contain oleic acid. This is a healthy fat that facilitates healing and may also be an antifungal and antibacterial. Eat and enjoy. Just skip the veggies and tortilla chips!
Salmon
If you are desperate for meat, opt for salmon over chewy chicken or beef. It is soft and easy to chew. Best of all, it is a super source of protein which your body needs to heal, and it is very high in omega-3 fatty acids.
These also have healing and anti-inflammatory properties. Most people don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids, so enjoy your salmon!
Hummus
Hummus is a combination of chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, lemon and garlic. It is simple to make and is available in most grocery stores.
Hummus is high in healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and protein. As you know from previous foods, all these are very important to the healing process. Garlic has well known antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties.
Hummus is generally eaten as a dip, but you may want to skip the veggies and pita bread until you heal up.
Cottage Cheese
A final food kind to sore jaws and extract wounds is cottage cheese. Like all dairy products, it’s high in protein. It is also a great source of nutrients that help you heal and rebuild bone.
You can add cottage cheese to many foods. When you scramble eggs, cottage cheese makes them fluffier. You could add it to mashed bananas and smoothies for the added punch of protein without a lot of calories.
ConclusionPlan ahead to have soft or liquid foods that will help you heal while you are recovering from a tooth extraction. Stay away from anything that is crunchy or chewy, so you don’t break open your scab and stitches.
Be careful about using a straw. You can suck hard enough to create dry socket, a very painful condition.
Eat a reasonable number of calories and pamper yourself with warm drinks and soups. You’ll be up and back at life soon enough.
