Can I eat a sandwich after oral surgery?
Sandwiches, chips, and orange juice should all be avoided after your wisdom tooth removal, dental implant surgery, orthognathic surgery etc. Too much chewing can possibly re-open the sensitive areas of your mouth, and can cause bleeding or even infection.
Within the first 24 hours after tooth removal surgery, you should avoid consuming anything that involves chewing. Try to limit yourself to liquids exclusively. If they don't fill you up and you want to consume solid food, go for soft meals that don't need much chewing, like pudding or oatmeal.
For most common oral surgeries — wisdom teeth removal, impacted teeth removal, or even an impacted root canal — you'll be able to slowly start reintroducing most crunchy, fibrous foods back into your routine around one week post operation.
Bread is typically tough to chew after wisdom tooth removal and you are generally recommended to avoid any foods that could get stuck to your surgery site. Crackers and breads are notorious for getting stuck on teeth and stuck in the mouth and that can only cause trouble post oral surgery.
Soft Sandwiches
Tuna Salad. Egg Salad. Thinly Sliced Deli Meat. & Cheese. Creamy Peanut Butter & Jelly.
Avoid meat that is hard to chew such as beef, pork, and chicken for at least a few days. Instead, eat a flaky fish or tofu. A patient can also make a vegetable soup using his or her favorite veggies and spices.
Dairy. Many dairy foods are easy to consume after your oral surgery. These include custard, yogurt, plain ice cream, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, milkshakes, mild cheese, cream cheese, and milk.
The good news is, within a few hours after your surgery, you can eat normal soft foods and you will be able to consume beverages, just not with a straw. You will be able to go to Chick-Fil-A, McDonalds, Cook Out or Bojangles in about three or four days.
After the initial discomfort has subsided, you can begin introducing solid, soft foods, like oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bananas, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, pasta, or rice. Plan to continue eating a soft food diet for about 10 – 14 days.
But you will even want to avoid overly crunchy foods. A great example would be tacos and nachos. The chips and shells can be too crunchy and injure the incision site.
Do pancakes count as soft food?
Breads, cereals, rice, and pasta:
Breads, muffins, pancakes, or waffles moistened with syrup, jelly, margarine or butter. Moist dry or cooked cereal. Macaroni, pasta, noodles, or rice. Saltine crackers moistened in soup or other liquid.
Avoid meat that is hard to chew such as beef, pork, and chicken for at least a few days. Instead, eat a flaky fish or tofu. A patient can also make a vegetable soup using his or her favorite veggies and spices. Some soups like potato and carrot, are delicious when one blends them, which is even easier to eat.

Meat is chewy, and it's a food that requires a lot of chomping and grinding of the teeth as you eat. But as your extraction wound is healing, you want to avoid that as much as possible. You may be able to eat meat after 24 hours, but it may take several days.
Please avoid the following foods for the first week following surgery: spicy foods, foods that are difficult to chew (steak, poultry, deli meats), popcorn, pretzels, potato chips, crusty bread, bagels, cookies, and alcoholic beverages. The key is to plan ahead and have liquid and soft foods available after surgery.
For at least 24 hours after your tooth extraction, you should consume only soft foods and liquids. You can ease into a more normal diet when you feel comfortable doing so. Try to stick with easy-to-chew foods for a few days. Initially, choose cool foods like yogurt, pudding, Jell-O, and ice cream.
What to eat the first 24 hours after tooth extraction: It is usually safest to eat only liquids or soft foods for the first 24 hours. This might include items like yogurt, pudding, soup, applesauce, gelatin, and ice cream without any crunchy pieces.
While you may want to avoid chewy steak, if you want to get in your meat fix, then well-cooked finely ground beef or turkey is a great source of protein. Alternatively, any soft flaky fish can also be eaten – just watch out for any bones which can become lodged in the tooth extraction site.
You will want to avoid eating thick or crusty bread right after your dental surgery. These can become a real choking hazard. Avoid toast, muffins, and bagels for a while. After a week or so, however, you can begin introducing soft bread back into your diet.
Pasta is totally doable if you prepare it right. Macaroni and cheese is perfect because you can swallow the tiny noodles whole or chew them with your front teeth. You can also overcook your pasta noodles to make sure they are soft and easy to chew.
If there is still a lot of pain after three days, a patient should delay introducing solid foods back into their diet. In most cases, a patient will be able to get back to their normal routine and diet within the first seven days following the extraction of their wisdom teeth.
Why can't I eat dairy after tooth extraction?
We do not recommend dairy products such as yogurt, ice cream, or milkshakes on the day of surgery as nausea and vomiting may develop in conjunction with the anesthetic and pain medication.
Most people can begin eating semi-soft foods that don't require many chewings, such as scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, instant oatmeal, sandwiches, and noodles. However, you still need to avoid hard or crunchy food like nuts and pizza.
Pasta that's been cooked to a very soft stage is an ideal choice after your impacted wisdom teeth removal. Mashed Potatoes: Both sweet and white potatoes are some of the easiest foods to eat after wisdom teeth removal. Top with butter, gravy, or sour cream for additional variety.
Pasta is a great choice as a surgery recovery food. But no al dente after the dentist. Cook pasta until it's soft and a little bit mushy for ease of eating. Pasta serves as a great base for many types of blended sauces.
If you're going to have anesthesia, your dentist will recommend that you do not eat or drink anything for at least eight hours prior to your surgery. If you need to take medication, only use a small sip of water if necessary. Doing so will help you to avoid any risk of aspiration during surgery.