Dental implants can make a significant improvement to your life. Not only will you have beautiful teeth, but you will also have more confidence, less pain, and be an overall happier person. Those who suffer from unhealthy teeth can find that implants improve their overall health as well. Dental implant surgery is a long process, and you have to be careful for a period of time, especially when eating. The following are some tips for eating after dental implant surgery.

Why Do You Have to Be Mindful of Your Diet?

During this time, your mouth is healing from significant surgery. As the implants fuse to the jawbone, they need to have as much rest as possible. You can prolong the healing process by eating the wrong foods. If you eat the wrong foods too early, you risk the implants not fusing to the jawbone, meaning you will likely need them to be replaced.

While you are waiting for the implants to heal, you will have temporary acrylic teeth placed. This material does not hold up well against the significant pressure required to eat some types of food. You will find yourself back in the office to have your temporary teeth replaced if you eat the wrong thing.

What Can You Eat After Surgery?

The goal is to allow enough healing time for the implants to fuse with the jawbone. Your doctor will let you know how long you need to stay on this particular diet, but typically implant patients have to remain on a soft diet for several months during the fusion process.

A typical diet for post-dental implant patients consists of soft foods. Some examples include pasta, yogurt, pudding, cream soups, eggs, and fish. As you heal, you can gradually add additional options such as lean beef, soft bread, biscuits, and the like.

What If You Are Diabetic?

If you are a diabetic patient, you need to work closely with your doctor to ensure you not only allow yourself proper healing but also that you are eating the foods necessary to your prescribed diet. Some options may include brown rice, oatmeal, cottage cheese, beans, peanut butter, whole-wheat pasta, and the like. Again, be sure to discuss your food options with your doctor as well as your primary care physician to ensure you are getting adequate nutrition.

What Should You Avoid?

Ideally, you need to avoid foods that are crunchy, hard, or tough. This includes things like chips, nuts, raw apples or carrots, thicker cuts of meat, chewy or sticky candy, and anything that requires you to bite down hard in order to eat it.

For more information about dental implant surgery, talk to your dentist.