What Can I Eat After Dental Implant Surgery?
Dental implants offer the most natural and functional way to replace missing teeth. Since dental implant placement requires dental surgery, patients may need to adjust meal options during the recovery period.
Patients often ask what can they eat after dental implant surgery, fearing they’ll have to live on applesauce and oatmeal until they can chew normally again. Not to worry: there are plenty of soft, easily-chewable meals you can eat as your mouth heals.
Patients with substantial bone loss may require a bone graft to build up the bone in their jaw. A sufficient amount of bone is necessary to ‘anchor’ the dental implant(s). Bone grafting is a separate dental procedure and is performed prior to implant placement. Dr. Mike will examine you to determine if a bone graft is necessary.
After a bone graft procedure, it may take about 48 hours before patients can chew normally. During this relatively brief post op period, it is important to avoid hot food and drink… even soup should be eaten at a moderate temperature. Dr. Mike will also recommend eating very soft food that require minimal chewing. If chewing cannot be avoided, do not chew on the graft site. After two days, patients are typically able to resume a normal diet – but continue to avoid chewing on the surgery site.
As far as dental implant surgery is concerned, it may take about a week before patients return to eating normally. Try to approach this gradually: for the first 12 hours post surgery, eat soft or pureed foods like smoothies, applesauce and yogurt. As you heal, you can introduce other soft foods. Once the first week is over, you can resume eating normally. Again, avoid chewing on the surgery site.
Here’s a quick guide to easy meals after your dental implant surgery.
Post-surgery meals don’t have to be bland. Here are some tips to stay nourished while your mouth is healing:
During your follow-up appointments, Dr. Mike will check the implant site and let you know when it’s safe to reintroduce sticky, spicy, crunchy and acidic foods.
If you’re interested in learning more about the dental implant process and to determine if you are an implant candidate, call Dr. Mike at Cleveland Implant Institute today!
Mentor Office
6303 Center St
Mentor, OH 44060-2467
Concord Office
8245 Auburn Road
Concord, OH 44077
