What to Eat and Avoid After a Dental Implant
The short answer.
For the first 10 to 14 days, stick to soft, non-chew foods such as eggs, yoghurt and smoothies. Avoid alcohol and acidic, crunchy, chewy or very hot foods and drinks while the implant heals.
Getting dental implants is an investment in your oral health and smile. While you may be looking forward to enjoying your favourite foods again, there are some you should avoid during the healing process to ensure a successful outcome after dental implant surgery.
Understanding Dental Implants
Dental implants are a long-term solution for missing teeth. They look and perform like normal teeth and replace about 72% of your normal chewing function after three months post-surgery (another site) when immediately loaded, restoring your ability to chew normally.
Immediate placement and immediate loading have become popular in implant dentistry because patients’ demands for immediate satisfaction and time-saving procedures have increased. Your dentist can go over your dental implant surgery options at your consultation.
The dental implant is a small post surgically placed in your jawbone and functions as the new tooth root. It fuses with your jawbone, providing an anchor for the dental restoration. Once the site has healed, your dentist adds an abutment that connects the restoration and the dental implant. This involves another minor dental implant surgery because your dentist must reopen the wound to attach the abutment.
It takes about two weeks for the area to heal, and then your custom restoration is fitted. For the basics, see what dental implants are and how they work.
Why Healing Time Matters
Although dental implant surgery is minimally invasive, it still requires a healing period for a successful outcome. In traditional dental implant surgery, it can take up to six months for the dental implant to fuse with your jawbone and stabilise.
The risk of infection is elevated immediately following dental implant surgery, so you must follow your dentist’s post-surgery instructions, including foods to avoid after a dental implant.
Foods to Avoid After a Dental Implant
Immediately following dental implant surgery, your gums will be tender and swollen. For the first 10 to 14 days following your dental implant surgery, it is advisable to follow a non-chew diet of high-protein foods like scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, yoghurt and smoothies to aid your recovery.
Because your dental implants were inserted through tiny incisions in your gums, it is important to protect them by avoiding foods that are:
- Alcoholic because alcohol interferes with the fusing process, increasing the likelihood of dental implant failure (another site)
- Acidic like oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes and carbonated drinks because they can slow the healing process
- Crunchy like nuts, popcorn, biscuits, seeds, crisps, carrots and apples as they can get stuck in the wound and prevent it from healing, or moving the implant
- Chewy foods like crusty bread and steak as they can dislodge the implant
- Hot soups, coffee and tea that can cause the titanium implant to heat up, burning the surrounding cells and loosening the implant
- Nutritionally lacking foods like ice-cream
- Spicy foods like hot salsa, curries and hot peppers that can irritate the surgical site, hindering the healing process
- Sticky caramels and chewing gum that can dislodge the implant before fusing occurs
- Sugary foods that encourage bacteria resulting in an infection
Two weeks following your dental implant surgery, you will be able to enjoy more of your favourite foods. However, to prolong the lifespan of your implant, you should limit the following:
- Pigmented foods that can stain your dental implants like coffee and red wine
- Sugary food and drinks because they increase the number of oral bacteria in your mouth, placing your implants at risk of failure (another site)
- Alcoholic beverages are high in carbs and sugar that can lead to an infection if you don’t maintain regular professional hygiene cleanings and exams
If you need a bone graft before your implant, see what to eat after a bone graft.
Talk to Us
Before surgery, it is important to have a consultation at your local clinic to make sure you are a candidate for the procedure.
During your dental implant consultation at Dental Spot, you can expect a comprehensive oral examination and X-rays to ensure you have enough bone density to support dental implants.
After the examination, your dentist will discuss your treatment options and outline a treatment plan that covers:
- How long the treatment takes (see the stages of dental implants)
- How many appointments are necessary
- Sedation options
- Recovery period
- Aftercare instructions such as what to eat and what foods to avoid after a dental implant
Sources
- Short-term follow-up of masticatory adaptation after rehabilitation with an immediately loaded implant-supported prosthesis: a pilot assessment (another site), International Journal of Implant Dentistry
- Implant failure rate and the prevalence of associated risk factors: a 6-year retrospective observational survey (another site), Journal of Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery
This guide is general information, not advice about your own teeth. Your dentist can tell you what applies to you, including the risks of any treatment.
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
