What to Eat After Having an Impacted Tooth Removed

From the hassle of changing your schedule, to the potential cost of the procedure, to the after effects, the removal of an impacted tooth is no fun even if you don't have a phobia of oral surgery. Whether you're given general anesthesia or choose to be alert for the procedure, blood and pain are inevitable. There are numerous things you need to do after such a surgery, one of which is to follow a proper diet until your mouth can handle eating normal foods.

High Protein

• In order for the body to recover from the shock of the surgery and from the damage its received, protein is essential during the first post-procedure week. Getting protein-rich foods that don't need a lot of chewing can be difficult. Scrambled eggs, ground beef, ground chicken, re-fried beans, ground nuts, brown rice and peanut butter are all options. Cottage cheese and string cheese have moderate levels of protein. If you're on antibiotics, yogurt that contains probiotics is a healthy option to maintain healthy bacteria levels, but avoid yogurts high in fruit. Slowly incorporate harder proteins after the first three days depending on how much discomfort is caused by minimal chewing.

Vegetables

• Given that biting and crunching is pretty much out of the question for the first three days, all vegetables should be heavily steamed or boiled and cut into small pieces. Your body needs essential vitamins post-surgery, and softened broccoli, cauliflower and sauteed spinach are all healthy options for the recovery process.

Fruits

• While the thought of a juicy orange may be tempting in the first couple days after surgery, citric acid should be avoided the first few days as it could cause complications. It would also cause quite the sting on gum wounds. That means no strawberries, blueberries, apricot, peaches are any other fruit with high citric acid levels. Mashed bananas and small pieces of pear are low in citric acid, but apples and other fruits that require chewing should be avoided.

Drinks, Soft and Liquid Foods

• Drinking at least 5 to 6 glasses of water should be atop the priority list post-surgery. A milk, peanut butter and banana shake provides much needed protein. Any kind of soup with large pieces of meat is not recommended. High nutrient vegetable soups are the best. Broccoli and cheese soup, or tomato soup are both tasty options that provide essential vitamins. Jello, pudding and ice-cream are all acceptable treats, as increasing calorie intake is important in the first week after surgery. Rice pudding is a healthier alternative to traditional chocolate, tapioca and vanilla pudding, while frozen yogurt is healthier than ice cream.

Starches

• With bread and most cereals out of the question, starches should be limited to soft pastas, oatmeal, and mashed potatoes, including sweet potatoes.

What to Avoid

• Along with high acid foods, spicy foods should be avoided at all costs. So should alcoholic beverages, which could negatively interact with pain relievers that are prescribed during the first few days post-surgery.