What is a soft food diet? Why is a soft food diet important when you have dental implants? You may be asking these questions if you have recently started the dental implant process.
A soft food diet is just as it sounds – all soft foods! Although patients worry about its restrictions, it is not as scary or difficult as people assume it will be. A soft food diet requires food options that are easy to chew or do not involve any chewing. It’s true – a soft food diet is restrictive, but keep in mind it is only temporary, and there are a lot of excellent-tasting foods you will be able to enjoy during recovery. Keeping up with a sensible diet will not only aid in your general health, it can enhance the healing process. Prior to your procedure, your oral surgeon will instruct you on the specific foods to eat and which ones to avoid while you recover.
Whether you have a single dental implant, multiple dental implants, or the All-On-Four procedure for your dental implant procedure, this will dictate your soft food diet. Foods like soup, pasta, various smoothies, and applesauce are all prime examples of excellent foods options; you will avoid hard or chewy foods, like crunchy carrots or gummy bears, or tough meats like brisket, which require repetitive chewing.
How long you will follow a soft food diet depends on how long your personal healing process takes. There will be other individual factors taken into consideration: the amount of bone that remains in your jaw, if any bone grafting procedure was necessary, and your overall health will all be considered by your oral surgeon when determining how long you will have to maintain a soft food diet.
After your procedure, it’s important to remember that your new dental implants are beginning a process that naturally fuses your dental implant with your jaw bone. Your oral surgeon will want to see you periodically to check on your progress. A natural process called osseointegration will offer a secure foundation for chewing, and it will enable your prosthetic tooth to function just like the rest of your natural teeth. A dental implant creates a new tooth root that is incredibly strong, which other dental replacement methods lack. While this “root” is affixed to the natural bone and makes for a secure, long-term solution, it also needs time to completely heal.
But patients beware: too much chewing of “harder” foods too quickly after surgery can lead to complications, such as poor integration or infection. By remaining on the doctor’s recommended soft food diet, you are on the road to successful healing. After meeting with your oral surgeon, they will determine when you can resume eating and enjoying the foods you love.
For more information on dental implants or to schedule a consultation, please call our office today and find out if dental implants are the right choice for you.