Introduction
Many patients ask themselves the question of how they feel about eating after a wisdom tooth operation. The consumption of coffee, tea, cigarettes and dairy products should be avoided in the first few days. After about a week, the wound has healed in such a way that eating is possible again without any problems.
Hard food should not be eaten immediately after the operation and a few days afterwards, as it can scratch the wound and cause pain. Soft foods that do not need to be chewed much are best suited. If the wound is well cared for, you can gradually get hold of all food. For larger and long-lasting, painful wounds you should consult your dentist.
Why shouldn’t you eat anything at first after a wisdom tooth surgery?
The ban on eating for the time after the wisdom tooth operation is only valid in principle as long as the anaesthesia in the jaw and lip lasts. How long that is, is different for every patient. If the wisdom teeth were extracted in the lower jaw, probably a conduction anesthesia had to be applied, during which the entire lower jaw half including tongue and lip becomes numb.
This can last several hours. If one tries to eat and drink while the lip is numb, the drink usually runs out of the mouth again. It is also dangerous because the heat of a hot drink or food cannot be judged.
Burning can easily occur, which is not noticed by the anaesthetic. Just as little you feel it when you bite your tongue, lip or cheek. The open wounds can easily become infected.
When can I start eating again?
Eating and drinking is allowed as soon as the feeling in the mouth area has completely returned. You should also wait until the bleeding has stopped. However, this usually happens soon after the treatment.
It is important to take care when drinking not to flush out the blood clot that has been placed over the wound to protect it. It is not possible to predict when exactly the anaesthetic will wear off again. Depending on how much and especially which anesthetic was injected and how strongly the patient responds to the anesthetic, the time until the feeling returns completely varies.
