If you’ve ever had major dental work done that’s left your mouth feeling sore or numb, you know how hard it can be to want to eat afterward. But to ensure that your body has the energy it needs to help you heal as quickly as possible, you have to make sure that you’re eating enough food. Luckily, there are some things that you can do to help ensure that you’re able to keep eating without hurting yourself or delaying your healing.
To help you see how this can be done, whether you’re getting new dentures before moving into an assisted living facility or having your wisdom teeth removed, here are three tips for eating after having dental work done.
Get Guidance From Your Oral Health Professional
Before you eat anything, you should have a conversation with your oral health professional to see what you should and shouldn’t be doing as you recover from the dental work you had done.
In some instances, you won’t really have any restrictions other than not eating or drinking anything that might cause you more pain or potentially waiting a few hours until your mouth isn’t as numb anymore. But in other situations, you may need to avoid crunchy foods for a considerable amount of time or stick to only a liquid diet for a period of time. If you’re unsure about anything, make sure you have the phone number of your dentist or oral surgeon so that you can get the answers you need about caring for yourself while you recover.
Try To Keep Foods Away From The Sensitive Area
When you are able to start eating food, it’s going to be a good idea to try to keep the food and other irritants away from the sensitive areas that you’re trying to heal. If you don’t do this, depending on the type of work that you’ve had done, you could have issues with things like dry sockets or having food stuck in sensitive areas that could cause you problems.
As you eat, try to eat on the side of your mouth that is healthier so that you can let the other side of your mouth heal.
Stick With Soft Foods For A While
As you think about what foods you’re going to want to eat while your mouth is recovering from dental work, it’s usually going to be best to stick with soft foods for a while.
Hard or crunchy foods can hurt your teeth and the sensitive tissues of your mouth, so you’ll want to avoid them until you’re feeling better. Ideally, you should try to eat things like blended soups, broths, yogurt, pudding, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, applesauce, smoothies, and other healthy yet soft foods.
If you’re worried about being able to eat after having dental work, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you in figuring this out.
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