A healthy diet can play a big role in keeping your whole body healthy, including keeping your mouth clean and in good shape. In fact, eating nutritious foods can help prevent cavities, tooth decay, gum disease, and other harm that can be done by improper dental care, as well as help your body heal after surgery. In this video, you’ll learn what you eat and drink after wisdom teeth surgery can help in your recovery.
Wisdom teeth, a third set of molars, emerge at between seventeen and twenty-five years of age and are often removed for lack of room for them to grow, or, most commonly, because they’re coming in impacted, meaning they are unable to erupt from the gums or are growing in a way that would shift the rest of your teeth. This often causes a lot of discomfort as they come in. For these reasons, as well as the fact that they are not needed anymore, it is important to get them removed. For the first forty-eight hours following the surgery, it’s best not to eat food that requires much chewing. Apple sauce, scrambled eggs, and soup are recommended as long as they aren’t too hot. Hard, crunchy, or sticky foods can irritate the healing area. Dry socket when bone and nerve endings are exposed following the premature removal of the blood clot, causing intense pain and for food to get trapped in the wound. It’s important to stay hydrated yet avoid drinking from a straw as it can dislodge the blood clot in the healing area, which is vital in preventing dry socket.
Follow these tips to have a healthy and smooth recovery!
Discussion Questions
When do wisdom teeth usually appear?
If you need to have your wisdom teeth removed, what are some foods that you could eat after your surgery?
Why shouldn’t you drink from a straw after having your wisdom teeth removed?