Top Foods To Eat After Tooth Extractions

Wondering what foods to eat after oral surgery? You’re at the right place! I’m going to share my top foods to eat after tooth extractions. Well, let me tell you, I have lots of ideas because as I write this, I am coming out of the recovery phase. If you’re wondering what foods to eat after oral surgery, you’re in the right place! I talk about all things “LIFE” on my Christian lifestyle blog and I don’t mince any words! Mince. What a strange choice of words since I had to mince EVERYTHING FOR A WHILE!

Foods to eat after oral surgery are soft foods that require very little chewing and jaw motion. Foods like yogurt, ice cream, and broth are functional options. Foods to avoid are crunchy foods or foods with small elements such as rice or quinoa.

As you know there are a gazillion types of dental surgeries. What I had done was a bone graft and tooth extraction and it all was really my fault.

You see, a crown in the rear of my mouth came off. Now an ordinarily prudent sane person would have rushed to the dentist to have it re-applied, glued, or whatever they do.  Well, needless to say, I didn’t. Then, the pandemic hit, and I had no intention of going to the dentist amid that Covid mayhem.  So, I waited…and waited.  Bad idea!

As much as I tried to avoid chewing on that side, I did from time to time.

When I did, food would get stuck in ungodly areas and I had to fish it out. It was gross and required a dental pic to keep the area clean.  Honey, it was not pretty at all. Hey, I got mine at CVS. You really can get EVERYTHING you need in life there!

Then the worst of the worst happened… you guessed it… THE TOOTH BROKE! Yes, I was a praying wonder that day!

During the height of the “shut-in”, I suffered through the situation.  However, recently, I felt safe enough to go see my dentist.

The diagnosis was a tooth removal and a bone graft to replace the remnant of the tooth that was there prior.  Granted, I didn’t necessarily have to have the implant, I wanted it. So, I had the extraction and the bone graft. 

I died a thousand deaths in that chair!

*Whew*

It was a horrible procedure. The yanking, the pulling, and the cracking. During it all, I wished Jesus would come back and have me first on His list for pick-up! It seemed like forever, but it was really only about an hour, I’ll bet.

Anyway, after I had the work done – which was bad enough – the recovery ensued … which was worse!

If you’re going through something similar, and you likely are since you’re reading this, ice is going to be your best friend so keep lots of it on hand.  When I couldn’t take pain relief, the ice carried me over to the next dose of meds.  

I’d put it on for 15 minutes and set my phone’s alarm to let me know when my 15 minutes was up.

Then, I’d take a break – again setting my alarm – and then I would hold the ice 15 minutes more on the jaw. It was a lifesaver.  This went on and on for about a good week or so.

Food was not my friend or even a casual acquaintance during this time. I couldn’t care less about the top foods to eat after tooth extractions during this time.

No, thanks to those heavy drugs, honey!

I didn’t want the opioid, so my oral surgeon told me I could do 600 ibuprofen and 1 Tylenol.  I tried that and learned we had to finagle that a bit. I was in so much pain. So we amended it. I opted to take 1000 mg of Tylenol.

That kept me comfortable.

Now, you talk to your oral surgeon or dentist to decide what’s right for you. I’m not a doctor and am simply sharing what worked for me.

Again, I wasn’t hungry at all because my mouth was so tender.

So, I ate very little the first couple of days. Just enough to have something on my tummy for the medicine’s sake.

Now, let’s talk about my top foods to eat after tooth extractions

I found lots of places online with ideas of what I could eat after tooth extraction and bone graft, but I found so many soft food options no one had discovered, so I thought I’d share them here! 

In short, if you’re wondering what to eat, let me make it plain.  

You eat soft foods! Point. Blank and Period!  

Don’t try to tempt fate and have that tortilla chip because, if you do, you could easily set yourself back in your healing.

 Stick with the soft foods and you’ll find some of them will be rather yummy. You just have to be creative.

For breakfast, these have been my favorite soft foods and my top foods to eat after tooth extractions: 

Pancakes
Softened with sugar-free syrup…only because I’m watching the calories. Otherwise, I would have had regular syrup.

Cream of Wheat

Soft scrambled eggs

Oatmeal
Cooked over the rainbow and back …i.e. soft! Cook it a LONG time.

Smoothie – eaten with a spoon. You know the whole risk of using a straw.

Muffins drowned in a little milk. 

French toast sticks (frozen), or you can make your own French toast. 

Deviled eggs – only run them through the blender. Use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayo. The vinegary tang in the mayonnaise could hurt.

Rolls or bread soaked in broth

I found breakfast to be the easiest meal of the day.  I usually opted for soft eggs and things designed for breakfast – like cream of wheat and oatmeal.  

Also, I ate only when I was ready. It was too painful for me in the beginning.

Food isn’t so important, really.

As you’ve heard, staying hydrated is super significant – food, not so much.

Accordingly, if you don’t want to eat or don’t have much of an appetite, you can easily have a protein shake (I like Premier shakes) or a Boost shake.  Be sure to keep the water going.  I just poured it into my mouth from the bottle.

Yeah, I looked like a heathen, but it was better than using a straw and risking a dry socket.

Lunch and Dinner and foods to eat after oral surgery:

Soup, soup, soup
Careful of anything that could get caught in the extraction site – no rice or broccoli

Ramen noodles
Before you open the package, break the noodles into small pieces so you won’t have to chew much.

Stove Top Stuffing
Make it super soupy or cover it in gravy. I used Heinz in the jar and thinned it with milk, broth, or water.

Mashed potatoes (whipped with a hand mixer and softened with lots of liquid)
Mashed potatoes are the “kind” of food to eat after oral surgery!

Mashed sweet potatoes or a sweet potatoes souffle. I like Trisha Yearwood’s recipe here.

Baked sweet potatoes (mashed, mashed, and mashed)

Squash soup
Make your own by baking it and adding broth. Put in blender and season.

Fish
I steamed in the Instant Pot and was careful with the seasoning. Too much salt proved to be a bad idea for me.

Sauteed mushrooms
Yes, I had to cut them up, but they are a great option for foods to eat after oral surgery!

Potato soup
You may need to run it through a blender with some milk. One day I roasted some garlic in the oven and blended it with the potatoes. So yummy!

Tuna
Ok, this is not one of the foods to eat after oral surgery ordinarily because of the chewing required. But I put mine in a blender (to make it like a dip) with some mayo. It was perfect. Be sure not to blend it too long.

Refried Beans
I mashed mine with a little broth or water.

Any sort of mashed beans (black-eyed peas, pinto, etc.).

Liverwurst
I personally don’t like it, but it’s soft and should be a good food option after a bone graft and tooth extraction. It looks too much like dog food to me, so I leave it alone.

Broth
Hey, get some Better than Bouillon paste or cubes to make your own broth. You won’t want too many noodles or things to chew during the early days.

Mashed carrots

Baby food and baby applesauce, but squeeze it out of tubes since sucking through a straw is a “no-no.”

Mac and Cheese
This worked fine for me as long as the pasta was small.

Spinach
Mashed with a laughing cow wedge and a little gruyere cheese.

Bananas
I cut and mashed them for the first few days.

Puddings and yogurt

Cottage Cheese
Only after you’re comfortable chewing a little.

Ricotta cheese
Mix with a little cocoa powder and agave or cinnamon

Life G Free Gluten Free Donuts from Aldi.  
So moist they practically melt in your mouth

V8 Juice Drink
I ate it with a spoon.

Hummus
I ate it straight like a meal. Try chocolate hummus too!

Jello
Spray some whipped topping in it and chop with a fork.
It looks ugly but is so good.

Applesauce 

Ice Cream
I live on Breyers No Sugar Added and Carb Smart ice cream.  

Halo Top Frozen Dessert
I had lots of vanilla and caramel syrup 

Italian Ice
Got mine at Sam’s put it in a bowl, and enjoyed it with a spoon.

After I got comfortable, like after day 6, I ate the following:

Soft Archway cookies… cut into small, tiny pieces with a little milk or coffee.
My favorite is the molasses flavor (below)

Pinwheels
In your 3rd (or so) week, try these: Ole Extreme Tortillas, Laughing Cow Cheese wedge, Spinach dip from the grocery store’s refrigerated section, and a few slices of thinly sliced deli meat – like Oscar Mayer. Spread, roll and refrigerate. Cut and enjoy.

Want to know what happened to me day by day after the bone graft and tooth extraction?

Here is what to expect after your bone graft and tooth extraction …if you’re anything like me.

Some people have it done and are bicycling the next day. Hey, that was not my experience. I wish it was.

Anyway, I kept a little journal every day after my extraction and bone graft. Check out my experiences, and remember, yours will likely be different.

Day 1: I didn’t even think much about eating.  Even after the numbness wore off, I was just in too much shock and discomfort, so I ate very little. 

Day 2: This was the ‘belly of the whale’ for me.  I felt sleepy and uncomfortable.  I just slept most of the day because I got no sleep the night before.  I did begin to rinse my mouth with salt as recommended. The rinsing needs to be super gentle. This video below was a terrific source of information.

Seriously, this man is the dentist or oral surgeon you want! I really like Dr. Thousand’s explanation below.

I wish I could have gone to him, although I have a great oral surgeon.

Day 3: Ouch, still, but I’m hungry.  So I ate pudding.  I ate ice cream. I spooned broth for dinner.  Hey, nutrients would come later. Day 3 is the beginning of survival mode. 

Day 4: I started Googling things like “what I can eat on day 4 of extraction” and “foods to eat after oral surgery.” I was really getting hungry and ready to eat something!  

It didn’t help that my husband and kid had a slab of tender,  fragrant, greasy ribs a few nights that week. Ugh. I ate pudding…and pretended they were ribs. Took lots of imagination. Didn’t work. 🙁

Day 5: About this time, I discovered better ice cream options were lurking in this world, so I ventured out to find some ice cream.  I started with Sonic.  It was a little stiff for me.  

So, I had to stir it and let it sit a bit. But it was smooth and easy to handle without much discomfort. 

After I finished it, I immediately went to McDonald’s.  Hey, I was out and about.  

As Hall and Oats famously said, “No can do.” It was incredibly thick and forced a slight sucking motion at my extraction point. I couldn’t handle it.  So, I threw it away and went to DQ, or Dairy Queen, as you sophisticates call it.  

On day 5 of a tooth extraction, you’ll maybe find that DQ ice cream is also a bit firm for you.  However, if you let it sit and stir, it’s doable…or at least it was for me.  All in all, Sonic has the best ice cream after a tooth or oral surgery.

Day 6: “Hello, gorgeous!” That is exactly what I said to my bowl of Stovetop stuffing made with lots of water (see above).

I did make it super soft. But I left enough character in it so that I could chew a little bit of something on the opposite side of my extraction site.

I also had a tea kettle with water, and I kept the top down so that a little bit of water [at a time] with stream into the bowl, and I stirred until I got it just the right consistency. The key here is not to have to chew very much.  

Also, for me, the key is modest seasoning. Again, I don’t have to tell you how salt feels on an extraction site.  No good.

Day 7: Life is looking pretty good a week after the bone graft and extraction. I’m not sure that I feel 100%, but I know what I can do and cannot do. I’m getting a handle on how to take care of myself and that’s a good thing.

This is the day I really started focusing on taking my multivitamins. I wish I had before, but I didn’t. Since you’re not getting much nutrition, try to take a multi every day.  

Also, on day seven, I stopped taking my pain cocktail every four to six hours. I began to take it just as I needed it.

Day 8: I tried some refrigerated biscuits today. I couldn’t quite handle it the way I wanted to so I let those go. I’ll bet if you drown it in gravy, it could work.

Try that or chicken broth. The key, again still was not doing too much chewing for me. You may be better by day 8. Either way, you listen to your body and protect that site.

At my age, being over 50, I feel that I might be more susceptible to infections and things. As a result, I took no chances; I played it super safe.

Day 9: I’m at the point where I am chopping up pizza in small bites and chewing on one side.

I don’t think it makes any sense to continue analyzing the daily grind of the healing period, mainly because this is the turning stage for me. It’s the day I’m starting to feel pretty good. I had my follow-up visit and stitches removed.

The oral surgeon said everything was healing just fine, so I’m going to continue doing what I do. He said he’s going to leave the membrane in to continue the healing. This website gave me the best explanation of what a dental membrane is: https://glidewelldental.com/education/chairside-dental-magazine/volume-13-issue-1/barrier-membranes-implant-dentistry.

One funny thing is I do not have as much of an appetite as I did before this oral surgery, so I’m just eating what I want when I want.

At this point, I am still keeping my food chopped up, but not in crazy, fanatical ways. I just cut things into small pieces.

My dinner these days is everything from stuffed Ravioli- fresh (not frozen) or soft tortellini. I made the mistake of having sausage inside the ravioli, which required a bit more chewing than I wanted, but it didn’t bother me. It just meant that I would cut things up into smaller portions. 

Well, that’s it. That’s the list of foods you can eat after oral surgery. I hope I inspired you a bit. As I post this, I am a good 3 weeks out from surgery. I’m eating whatever I want. I’m just still eating on one side to keep things clean at the extraction site.

Other than that, I’m doing well and enjoying a little guacamole at this very moment.

Hang in there, and please feel free to share any other ideas you have about foods to eat after oral surgery. In the meantime, prayers are still welcome for me, as I still have a ways to go. Ugh!

That’s it. These are my top foods to eat after tooth extractions.

Hey, I hope you feel better really soon. It may seem it will take forever, but you’ll be back to crunching jaw breakers sooner than you might think!

GodsyGirl is a Christian lifestyle blog featuring Christian faith articles written by an ordinary Christian woman blogger, Christian inspirational podcaster, and a pastor’s wife. GodsyGirl is about Christian inspiration and living your fullest life as a fabulous Christian woman. Explore GodsyGirl.com to find articles on everything from daily Christian living to hair, makeup, and living your absolute best life!