If you’ve had your wisdom teeth removed, then you will need to take be careful of what you eat and drink right after. Otherwise, you can either tear out your stitches or end up with dry socket. There are several things you can do to help yourself heal after wisdom teeth removal.
How Long After Wisdom Teeth Removal Can I Eat A Burger?
Some people ask the question, “how long after wisdom teeth removal can I eat a burger?”. It’s best to wait at least 7 days before biting into something that hard. You should start slowly by introducing solid foods back into your diet and be careful how you chew.
How to Chew Solid Foods After Surgery
First and foremost try not to use the part where your wisdom teeth were, do your best to chew with your front teeth. If you have to use your molars try again to do the front molars. Make sure to use a saltwater rinse after every meal. When biting down do so slowly. If you accidentally get food in your wound site make sure not to crunch down hard. Especially if the food is hard, such as a burger or pizza.
Other Post Wisdom Teeth Removal Care Instruction
The aftercare of wisdom teeth removal is vital in the healing process. Food being a key component in this you want to avoid foods altogether for twenty-four hours. You can slowly add soft foods after the first few days. After about two weeks you can start eating more solid foods such as burgers and pizza.
Liquids, such as carbonated beverages should be consumed after several days. However, avoid using a straw for several weeks. This will help reduce the risk of blood clots being sucked out and opening up the incision site.
24-Hours After
Make sure to rinse with saltwater solution frequently after surgery. If you’re feeling up to “eating” make sure to stick with clear liquids such as broth or water. Don’t be surprised if you’re not feeling up to eating much for a few days. Avoid sugary and/or carbonated liquids as this will increase your risk of infection. Bacteria grows with sugar and the saltwater solution will help keep the incision site clean.
2-4 Days After
If you’re feeling up to it you’ll be able to start to introduce more solids into your diet. Foods such as:
- Applesauce
- Greek Yogurt
- Mashed Potatoes
- Mashed Yams
- Mashed Carrots
- Scrambled Eggs
There are also the options of soup purees and broths that are fantastic options to work with. Soup purees, such as winter vegetables, butternut squash, and black bean, or just pureed vegetable soup. Make sure all foods are cooled to room temperature or even cold as this will help ease you back into eating solids. It will also lessen the shock to the wound site.
7-14 Days After
Once you’re comfortable you can graduate to slightly “harder” foods such as soft carrots or shredded softened meats. You’ll find soft noodles to also become easier to eat. Going back to the soup idea, chicken noodle soup with small shredded chicken would be a great treat! Again, make sure that you aren’t consuming foods that are too hot as this might cause pain to the wound site.
3-4 Weeks Later
At this point, you can start to SLOWLY add in harder foods. However, you must be careful about how you chew. Start by chew at the front of your mouth. You do not want to aggravate your stitches and have them open up. You also want to make sure you don’t get bits of food in your wound site. Remember, still, to eat cooler/cold foods and also to continue to do your saltwater rinse. This will help make sure nothing gets stuck in your incision or stitches.
What to Look Out For After Surgery
There are several reasons to call your doctor. These usually happen shortly after, within the first few days. However, it can happen several weeks post-operation.
- Difficulty swallowing or breathing.
- Excessive bleeding.
- Severe pain that isn’t being managed by the prescribed pain medications (do not take anything not prescribed in case of complications).
- Swelling that is worse after a few days.
- Foul taste in your mouth that doesn’t go away after rinsing with salt water.
- Pus or ooze coming from the open wound.
- Loss of feeling or numbness in the mouth or jaw.
- If you have any blood or pus that is being discharged from your nose.
How to Tell if You Have Dry Socket
Dry socket (also known as alveolar osteitis) is when, instead of a blood clot type object in replace of the tooth, you can see directly to the bone. This can cause intense pain. There are a few ways to increase your likelihood that you will get dry socket.
- If you smoke (seventy-two hours, the longer you wait, the less likely you are to get dry sockets).
- If you have poor oral hygiene (remember to use the saltwater rinse frequently)
- Have your wisdom teeth pulled not extracted
- If your surgery didn’t go easy and you had more trauma than usual
- If you are using birth control pills (make sure to contact your doctor if you stop before/after the procedure)
- You also have an increased risk if you have a history of dry sockets
After Operation Care and Cleaning
Once you’ve woken up from your anesthesia from surgery how you take care of your mouth will determine how successful your recovery is. If you smoke shortly after or
you’ll find your recovery slow and painful with possible complications. If you are consistent and follow the care instructions your doctor outlines you’re much less likely to run into issues.
Do not drink from a straw, as previously mentioned this will increase your likelihood of having recovery issues.
Never hesitate to call your doctor for any concerns, they are here to help make sure your recovery is smooth and as minimal pain as possible. The list of things, found in the “What to Look Out For” section outlines when you should call your doctor immediately.
