Soft Food Guide After Dental Surgery
A practical guide to eating well while you recover from dental surgery. It has meal ideas, foods to avoid and tips for eating enough.
Urgent help: who to contact
Call 999 or go to A&E now if you find it hard to breathe, swallow or speak, or if swelling spreads to your neck, under your tongue or around your eye. A severe allergic reaction to any food (such as swollen lips, tongue or throat) is an emergency: call 999.
If you feel very unwell after dental surgery, contact your dental team. If you cannot reach them, call NHS 111.
Why Soft Foods Matter After Surgery
After dental surgery, the healing wound needs to be protected. This applies to a tooth extraction, an implant, a bone graft or gum surgery. Chewing hard or crunchy food near the wound can:
- Loosen the blood clot (this can lead to a dry socket after a tooth is taken out)
- Disturb stitches or the edges of the wound
- Push bits of food into the wound, which raises the risk of infection
- Cause pain and slow down healing
Eating well also helps you recover. Your body needs good food to heal well. Soft food does not have to be boring or low in goodness. This guide gives you tasty ideas that are safe while you recover.
Foods That Are Safe to Eat
These foods are soft, good for you and kind to healing tissue. How strict you need to be varies. Your dental team will tell you how long to follow this guide, based on your treatment.
Breakfast ideas:
- Porridge or smooth oatmeal (not too hot)
- Yoghurt: plain, Greek or flavoured
- Scrambled eggs or soft-boiled eggs
- Smoothies (do not use a straw for the first 48 hours)
- Soft white bread with butter (no crusts)
- Banana or ripe soft fruit
Lunch and dinner ideas:
- Soup, such as blended vegetable, tomato, lentil or chicken broth (not too hot)
- Mashed potato with butter and milk. Add grated soft cheese for protein.
- Well-cooked pasta with a soft sauce (no chunky pieces)
- Soft cooked rice
- Scrambled or poached eggs
- Soft fish (cod, haddock, salmon), flaked, with no bones
- Soft cooked chicken, shredded, in a sauce
- Lentil dhal or soft bean dishes
- Avocado, mashed or sliced
- Hummus with soft pitta (avoid the crispy edges)
- Soft tofu
- Macaroni cheese
- Shepherd's pie or cottage pie (with very soft mince)
Snacks and treats:
- Ice cream or frozen yoghurt (cold foods can soothe the wound)
- Mousse or jelly
- Soft cheese
- Ripe banana
- Custard or rice pudding
- Protein shakes or meal replacement drinks if you do not feel like eating
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
Avoid these until your dental team says you can go back to a normal diet. This is usually 7–14 days, but it depends on your treatment.
Foods to avoid:
- Hard foods: crusty bread, crackers, raw carrots, whole apples, nuts, seeds, hard sweets, boiled sweets, toffee
- Crunchy foods: crisps, toast, cereal with crunchy pieces, granola
- Chewy foods: steak, chewy meat, gummy sweets, chewing gum, bagels, crusty rolls
- Sticky foods: toffee, caramel, sticky rice, some breads
- Small bits that get stuck in wounds: seeds, popcorn, couscous, and loose grains of rice eaten near the wound. These can get trapped in the wound. Well-cooked soft rice eaten on the other side, in bigger mouthfuls (not loose grains), is usually fine.
- Spicy foods: they irritate healing tissue
- Very sour (acidic) foods: citrus fruits and vinegar can sting
Drinks to avoid:
- Very hot drinks (for the first 24 hours)
- Alcohol (for at least 24–48 hours after surgery, and while taking antibiotics)
- Fizzy drinks, as the bubbles can disturb the wound
- Drinking through a straw for at least 48 hours after an extraction. Sucking can loosen the blood clot.
Tips for Eating Comfortably
These tips make eating easier while you heal:
- Chew on the other side from the wound. This is the most important rule.
- Let hot food and drinks cool down before you eat or drink them.
- Cut food into small pieces so you need to chew less.
- If it hurts to chew, stop. Try something softer.
- Drink plenty of water through the day.
- You may not feel like eating. This is common after surgery because of pain and swelling. If so, choose soft foods that are high in energy (calories), such as full-fat yoghurt, avocado, nut butters, cheese and protein shakes.
- Do not rinse or spit for the first 24 hours. This can loosen the blood clot. After 24 hours, rinse gently with warm salty water after meals to keep the wound clean.
- Do not eat just before bed. This lowers the chance of food sitting in the wound overnight.
When You Can Go Back to a Normal Diet
When you can eat normally again depends on the treatment you had:
- Simple tooth extraction: usually 5–7 days for most foods. Avoid very hard foods near the socket for 2 weeks.
- Wisdom tooth removal: 7–10 days for most foods. Avoid hard and chewy foods for 2 weeks.
- Dental implant surgery: 2–4 weeks of soft foods. Your dental team will tell you when you can chew on the implant side. This is often several months.
- Bone grafting: 2–4 weeks of soft foods. Follow your dental team's advice for you.
- Gum surgery: 1–2 weeks, as advised.
If in doubt, play it safe and choose softer food. It is always better to wait a day or two longer than to disturb a healing wound.
If you are not sure whether a food is safe yet, ask your dental team at your follow-up visit.
This leaflet is for general information only and does not replace professional dental advice. Your dental team will discuss your individual circumstances and any dietary restrictions specific to your procedure. Recovery times and dietary requirements vary between patients depending on individual circumstances.
Sources
- What to do following an extraction. Oral Health Foundation.
- The Eatwell Guide. Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 2016.
Links checked 18 October 2026.
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