No doubt your surgeon will confine you to a diet after your dental implants. The recommended foods will be helpful to your healing process. However, the list might not include some of your favourite delicacies, for example, milk.
Milk might seem to be the perfect deal after your surgery, especially as you are advised to stick to liquids and vitamin-based goods. However, this is not the case.
Dairy is the primary component of milk, and unfortunately for all milk lovers, dairy is capable of triggering inflammation if consumed after a tooth implant. Asides from the inflammation, you might also have to deal with nausea that would trigger vomiting and sometimes, stomach trouble as well.
If you’re an ardent lover of milk, your taste buds would constantly trouble you and make the process difficult. But, for your safety, comfort, and speedy recovery, the dentists at Pristine Dentalworks advise that it would be best if you stick to the given diet, and avoid milk.
Plain milk is not the only form of dairy you should avoid. Ice cream, yoghurt, smoothies, cheese, cottage, or any other form of milk-based foods should be on your list of “Foods to be avoided”. If you just have them, be certain that their dairy component is of a minimal percentage.
Tooth implants, like any other type of body implant, will take a while to get structured and fused into the body. This process is referred to as osseointegration. For tooth implants, osseointegration is completed in a maximum of 3 months. If you’re lucky and follow your surgeon’s instructions, you will be back in business in as little as three months.
Foods You Can Have After Surgery
Your gums and entire teeth structure is bound to be weak after you have your implants done. So, your doctor will strongly warn you to stick to soft foods for the time being. If you can, only consume liquids within the first week after your surgery.
You may be assigned a dietician to craft a strict diet plan for your recovery journey, but if you’re not, you can as well schedule an eating plan for yourself. Here’s a list of vitamin-rich foods recommended for you while you heal:
- Cold soups
- Non Dairy shakes
- Quaker oats
- Corn flakes
- Mashed potatoes
- Meat puree
- Bananas
- Omelettes
- Scrambled eggs
- Muffins
- Coffee
- Soft fruits
- Apple sauce
- Jell O
What You Should Avoid After A Dental Implant
It’s already established that what you eat can be helpful or detrimental to your healing process. So, having listed a couple of foods that are recommended, it’s wise to know what to exclude from your diet while you’re at it.
Chewable foods
The first week after your surgery is the period you should give your incisions the most care. Allow your gums to heal by giving them a little time to incorporate the new body. How do you do this? By staying away from foods that would require you to chew.
You can survive on soups, smoothies, and a few others, while you give your gums rest for a week or two. Keep the crunchies away.
Hot food
No hot foods after dental implants. Heat destabilizes the integration of your fixtures and also disrupts the clotting process that facilitates healing. It also causes pain, soreness, and irritations to the worked areas. If you would like your food warm, ensure that you heat them at least one hour before you consume them.
Straws
Liquids would be recommended for you, however, you should desist from using straws to consume these liquids. Any slight mistake would cause bruising to your incisions because your gums are most fragile at this point. Simply drink your liquids the old-fashioned way- cup/bowl to mouth; even better, use a spoon.
Spicy foods
Sorry, but all your spicy foods will have to be packed away for the time being. Like hot foods, these spices can cause irritation and further soreness, and you would not like the feeling. Even worse, the intense seasoning could lead to an infection that would further elongate your healing process.
Tough meat
You would be allowed to eat most foods after two weeks, but, steak, ribs, and other tough meat will have to be avoided throughout the entire process. You may have shredded chicken and softer meat If it’s your canines that got replaced. This soft meat would not require you to tear the meat with your teeth thereby wrecking your newly acquired canines in the process.
How Soon Can You Eat After Surgery?
You can eat immediately if you get hungry after surgery. Though, you may experience an induced delay in appetite after the procedure. It is what you eat that you should pay attention to. Your mouth will feel sore after the implants are done. So, you would not even need a doctor to restrain you from hot or spicy foods, unless you can eat through the pain.
Begin your recovery phase with a healthy diet and healthy hygiene. This way, you would be back to your desired eating routine in a lesser time. Resist the urge to return to your normal eating habits as soon as you begin to ‘feel well’, especially if it hasn’t been up to three months since the surgery. The pain and soreness might subside, however, you must let the surgeon confirm that you are fit to eat as you wish.
Teeth implants will not affect how you eat, you would not need to worry about them falling off, or accumulating unaccessible dirt. They function the same way as normal teeth do. So immediately after the osseointegration is concluded, you would be able to do whatever you would with a natural tooth.
Nonetheless, they require care and maintenance, especially during osseointegration. Hygiene is paramount at this point. If they aren’t properly maintained, germs could sneak in and hamper your overall comfort and the efficiency of the tooth.
An infection spread, bone damage, excessive bleeding, and jaw rupture are some of the complications that could arise if you do not follow due process after the surgery.
Final Takes
Dental implants can come in handy after your natural teeth can no longer function. After the fixtures are done, your diet becomes the next area of attention. In all you do, ensure that you follow the food routine you were assigned. And, do well to avoid dairy at all costs, else, you’d be stuck in the healing phase longer than you anticipated. If you have any questions regarding foods and drinks or anything else related to your dental implants treatment and recovery, feel free to visit Pristine Dentalworks at 18 Jln Masjid, Singapore 418944 or call them for appointment at 65 6748 1214.