Wisdom teeth are the third molars in your mouth and there are many reasons why one or more may be extracted. Whether it is due to cavities or some traumatic event, wisdom teeth extraction is a minor procedure that will not require a long hospital stay. After the procedure, however, you will be required to be careful with what you eat.

The molars and premolars perform the functions of chewing and grinding. Losing one or more will have an impact on how effectively you can chew. Also, the gum tissue where the wisdom tooth is removed will be left inflamed and in pain. This side should not be used to chew and the food eaten should be easy to chew.

Foods to eat

To avoid worsening the pain, start by eating liquid foods. The options you have include:

• Soups and broths
• Smoothies
• Yogurt
• Apple sauce
• Ice cream
• Pudding
• Mashed potatoes
• Scrambled eggs

These foods are highly nutritious and soft enough to be swallowed without the need to chew too hard. Was that ice cream on the list? Yes it is! You can actually treat yourself to a bowl of ice cream after wisdom tooth/teeth extraction. It is rich in protein and the cold temperatures will help numb the pain. However, avoid having too much ice cream as this may cost you your other teeth.

How long should you stick to this diet? This depends on how fast your healing process is. While some people can chew well within 4days, for others it will take more than a week. Do not eat hard foods until you are ready and the process is painless. A good way to adjust back to normal eating is to move from liquid foods to soft ones and eventually tough ones.

Stay hydrated

Do not think that eating liquid foods provides your body with enough hydration. You still need to take in water and lot of it at that. Ensure you have a minimum of 8 glasses per day. Also, increase your intake of juices and energy drinks. These will help hasten the tissue healing process.

Foods to avoid

Other than the foods to eat after wisdom teeth extraction, you should also take note of the foods not to eat. Spicy foods should be avoided as they tend to irritate the gums and so do citrus fruits. Alcohol and tobacco should also be avoided as it may affect the tooth extraction site and lead to adverse effects by the drugs given by your dentist after the extraction. Foods that may be trapped in the extraction site should also be avoided. These include grains like rice, popcorn, nuts, chips and so on. These will delay healing process. To know more on about wisdom teeth treatment you should ask our dentist more about it.