How Soon Can You Eat After Tooth Extraction?

In preparation for a tooth extraction surgery, you may be wondering what foods you can eat, what beverages you can drink and how you should care for your mouth in the hours and days post-surgery.

Generally, dentists say you can eat soft foods two to three days after tooth extraction, and you can return back to your normal diet within about a week, according to guidelines from the University of Washington School of Dentistry.

Most often, surgeons will recommend a diet of liquids and very soft foods on the same day of your surgery. Your doctor will provide guidance on what to eat in the days after your surgery, and soon enough, barring a few exceptions, you'll be back to eating the routine foods you love.

The outline below will give you a sense of what kinds of foods you can expect to eat the days after tooth extraction. Be sure to discuss your plan with your surgeon before deciding what to eat post-operation.

How soon you can start eating or drinking after your tooth extraction can depend on the extent of your surgery. (Again, your surgeon can provide you with specific guidelines.)

Most recommendations allow patients to drink liquids within a few hours of the surgery, along with soft foods that require little if any chewing. These include foods like ice cream, apple sauce, yogurt, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese and pudding.

You should avoid using a straw when drinking liquids, since the suction can dislodge the blood clot that covers your wound, per the American Dental Association (ADA). This can lead to more pain and bleeding, and will delay healing. You'll also want to avoid rinsing your mouth vigorously and smoking for 24 hours, per the ADA.

It's also important to avoid hot liquids in the initial days after surgery, as the heat also loosen the clot, and can also increase blood flow and bleeding from your wound, according to Texas A&M Health.

The day after your surgery, you can continue drinking liquids and eating soft foods, and you may be able to incorporate more typical foods, as long as you avoid chewing on the side of the mouth on which surgery was performed, according to the ADA.

You'll still want to keep foods soft so that you don't have to chew too much. This will prevent particles from lingering in your mouth, which can pose risk for infection.

Some foods you might add to your repertoire may include macaroni and cheese, cooked noodles, soft sandwiches and soft-boiled/scrambled/poached eggs, per the University of Washington. You'll want to avoid tough or crunchy foods, like pizza, rice, popcorn and hamburgers.

The ADA also recommends avoiding brushing directly on the extraction site and forgoing mouthwash for the first few days post-operation.

Your surgeon may also recommend avoiding alcohol for at least the first 24 to 48 hours after surgery, as alcohol may interact with your post-op medications and delay wound healing, per April 2013 research published in the ​Open Dentistry Journal​.

For one to two weeks after your surgery, you will be advised to avoid chewing food on the extraction site to avoid disruption to the healing process. During this time, you can transition back to most of your usual foods.

Still, you'll want to tread lightly when it comes to spicy or acidic foods until your site is fully healed to avoid irritating the extraction site. You'll also want to avoid crunchy and sticky foods, which can dislodge the clot if chewed near the extraction site.

After eating, you will want to keep the extraction area clean, but follow your surgeon's guidelines regarding brushing, flossing and rinsing and when it's safe to resume your usual dental care.

See your dentist if you experience signs of an infection, such as a fever, swelling or pain that is getting worse, pus draining from the surgery site or bleeding that persists or doesn't respond to pressure. If you are having difficulties breathing, seek emergency care.