
Mar
If you visit Innovative Dental by Dr. A in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to get a dental implant in the near future, or if you have recently received your dental implant, you may have questions about post-operative care. In particular, you may wonder what you can and should eat as you recover and heal from your procedure. What follows are some recommendations you can follow regarding dietary concerns, as well as some other recovery and healing tips from Dr. Anirudh Patel.
Following your dental implant procedure, during the first 24 hours after receiving dental implants, you should stick to soft foods or just liquids. Chewing while your mouth is still numb from the numbing agents used for your procedure could result in you biting your tongue or chewing your mouth unknowingly.
Ideal foods you can stick to include yogurt, pudding, smoothies, applesauce, ice cream, clear broths, creamy soups, mashed potatoes, and other soft or liquid foods. Avoid drinking through a straw or drinking carbonated liquids (minimum one week). Do not consume alcoholic beverages while taking your pain medication. Most importantly DO NOT SMOKE as it increases the risk of implant failure.
During the first week following your treatment, you will be able to progress to foods that may require some chewing but are still soft. Pancakes, rice, soft bread, macaroni and cheese (and other kinds of pasta), well-cooked vegetables, and eggs are all suitable dietary options.
After a week or two has passed, you can move on to foods that require more chewing. Foods like meat and raw vegetables may be appropriate at this stage. However, this depends on the speed at which you heal. Whatever food you attempt to eat, avoid chewing it on the side of your mouth, which received the dental implant until at least two weeks.
If you are looking for ways to make sure you heal promptly and with minimal complications following your dental implant procedure, here are some general guidelines you can follow:
To learn more about dental implants and how you can care for yourself following your procedure, please call our Philadelphia, PA office today at (215) 624-1935.