As a foodie, getting my wisdom teeth out was especially awful.
Everyone’s experience is a bit different with wisdom teeth removal, but for the most part you’re stuck eating mushy or liquid foods for at least a couple days (or in my case upwards of a week).
You can probably imagine how boring that gets.
If you have gotten them removed, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If not, it’s your lucky day, I’m going to talk about surviving post-surgery (food wise anyway… The pain meds should do the rest).
Mushy Foods
This is the most common and perhaps the most important tip you will get when it comes to staying fed.
Applesauce, pudding and ice cream will become your best friends.
If you hate mushy foods, well, that makes things difficult. But don’t worry, there are other options!
Liquid Foods
Soups and smoothies.
If you go with this option then make sure you either have a lot of variety or REALLY like the soup/smoothie you choose to spend your 2-7 days drinking otherwise you’ll get bored real fast.
Best to go with something that is very smooth with limited chunks/bits, such as cream of mushroom.
Calories
One of the biggest challenges I faced within the first few days was getting sufficient nutrition. I don’t mean you should count every calorie and be overly meticulous here. What you do want to do is avoid eating less than 400 calories a day as I did.
With foods like applesauce, pudding smoothies and soup it is surprisingly easy to under eat, meanwhile having the pain meds and pain itself masking how hungry you really are.
Furthermore, it is not healthy for the healing process to undereat.
Fruit Juices
A good way to get the calories you need is through fruit juices – such as orange juice – that are high in sugar (yes, not particularly good for you so try not to overdo it).
I would recommend drinking this alongside a few meals if you find yourself under eating. Not to mention they taste pretty good, so you’ve got that going for you too.
After Initial Recovery
Once you’re feeling up to it, a good way to ease back into solid foods (and out of the incredibly boring ones you’ve been living with) is by eating fish.
Baked salmon was the first non-mushy food I enjoyed after getting my wisdom teeth out. It was glorious!
Since you still won’t be able to open your mouth fully for at least another few days, having a food that you can just slot into your mouth and barely chew makes things much easier.
Beyond this stage it’s just a matter of slowly trying out tougher foods until you’re back to your normal self, minus some holes in your gums.
Best of luck with your wisdom teeth removal experience!
Cheers,
Ellis Koifman
Images courtesy of Pexels (6)
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