Eating After Dental Implant Surgery

Food does not have to be boring whilst your implant heals!

If you have recently had dental implant surgery at The Clock Tower Clinic in Epsom, you will have been told that you must eat soft foods for a period of time to avoid damaging the implant whilst it integrates with the bone.

There is also the matter of looking after the area of surgery which may be a little sore and tender for a short while. It therefore makes sense to be careful what you eat during the healing period.

On the surface of it, a diet of soft foods, even for a short time, may seem a little boring, but it doesn’t have to be this way. In today’s blog, we look at some aspects of eating and food selection in the period following your implant placement.

What NOT to eat

Before we take a look at some of the foods that you can eat following your surgery, it may be useful to take a look at some foods that you should definitely avoid.

Spicy foods – especially in the immediate period, the heat in spicy foods may well irritate and inflame vulnerable soft tissue.

Seeds and nuts – anything that is small and hard may become trapped in the area of the surgery and cause infections.

Hard foods – avoid anything that requires pressure being put on the new implant.

Crumbly foods – avoid crisps, popcorn etc, for the same reason as seeds and nuts (see above)

What you CAN eat (with care)

Usually, following your procedure, you will be told to eat liquid or very soft foods. Amongst those mentioned are usually yoghurts, mashed potatoes and ice cream. As delicious as these may sound, we are fairly sure that after three months of eating just these, our Epsom dental patients would probably never want to eat them again!

Soft foods don’t have to be boring though, and here are a few suggestions of healthy, nutritious and tasty foods that you can eat with caution:

Mac (cooked soft) n cheese – simple, delicious and now widely available as a convenience food

Omelettes and other egg dishes – tasty, easy to make and full of protein

Soups – avoid including hard foods such as croutons and preferably puree your soup. The combination of flavours is endless

Stuffed aubergine – roasted aubergine filled with soft vegetable and topped with cheese

Fish – fry it, bake it or grill it, fish is delicious, tasty and easy to cook

These are just a few ideas to get your started and a quick search on the internet will no doubt throw up a lot more. The point is that your post implant diet does not have to be boring at all, with just a little imagination. You may even find that some of the recipes stay with you long after your implant is strong enough to eat even the hardest of foods.

For more information about dental implants, or their aftercare, please call The Clock Tower Dental Clinic on 01372 720136.