What To Eat After A Root Canal
If you had a root canal treatment to reduce tooth pain, the good news is that the pain in your treated tooth should go away in a few days.
Root canal procedures are common, with very high levels of success. Recovery is quite speedy, faster than with a tooth extraction or other dental surgery. Most patients are healed and feeling better in a week.
However, you will have some mild pain and experience discomfort for a few days, and you will need to be a little more careful with the treated tooth, including avoiding chewing too heavily with it, until a permanent crown is placed on it.
Your dentist can guide you on root canal aftercare for your particular situation and may give you specific eating guidelines, but there are some general dos and don'ts on what to eat after a root canal treatment.
When Can You Eat After A Root Canal Procedure?
After your root canal procedure, although a temporary filling will harden within 45 minutes, you should avoid eating for the first few hours, until the numbness wears off, in case you accidentally bite your cheek or tongue or cause further complications.Be sure to drink lots of water and stay hydrated as you recover.
Soft Foods
If you are wondering what to eat after root canal procedures, the simple answer is most soft foods are okay.For the very first foods to try after, pudding, jello, and applesauce are the easiest foods to start with. You can avoid any chewing, and make yourself some nutritious smoothies with fruit, yogurt, or milk. Make sure there aren't any seeds, though. Well-blended soups or broth-based soups can also be drunk to avoid chewing.
When you are ready to try gentle eating, you can eat soft fruits like bananas, avocados, nectarines, peaches, mangoes, and other soft fruit without seeds, and mashed vegetables. Scrambled eggs, salmon, and tofu are easy to eat and are high in protein and therefore a bit more filling. Soft bread without hard grains or seeds, well-cooked pasta, and oatmeal are also usually easy to manage.
What Should I Avoid?
You should be careful of foods and drinks that may damage a temporary filling or treated tooth. You don’t want to create any complications, and avoid aggravating the sensitive and sore area until it is fully recovered.
Alcohol, Foods Off-limits for Medication Purposes
You may be given pain medications, antibiotics, or anti-inflammatories; check the prescription for anything to avoid. Dairy often causes nausea while on some of these medications.Alcohol should be avoided since it can negatively impact the effectiveness of your medications and may have other side effects. Even if you are not on any medications, you should still avoid it, as it is a blood thinner and can cause bleeding. It will also act as an irritant.
Very Hot Foods or Cold Foods
Cold and hot foods and drinks can cause sensitivity and discomfort and may impact gum healing. Drinks and foods at high temperatures can also burn delicate tissue.Spicy and Acidic Foods
Spicy and acidic foods can irritate your gums and tissues.Crunchy and Hard Foods
Crunchy foods like carrots, apples, pretzels, and chips should not be eaten until the permanent restoration is put in. Otherwise, eating these can cause some pain and irritation. Foods that are very hard like nuts, hard candies, and some cereals may damage the treated tooth.Chewy Foods
Tough or chewy foods, like meat, gum, and many loaves of bread should be avoided, as you should avoid chewing with the treated tooth until after a final restoration or crown is put on.Sticky Foods
Sticky foods like taffy and candies can pull out a temporary filling, as well as aggravate your treated tooth with chewing.Back To Normal
You can get back to hard foods like nuts, crunchy carrots, and sticky or chewy foods after your permanent crown are placed.That being said, be careful, and build up to these foods carefully. If eating a certain food makes the treated tooth hurt again, wait a bit longer before resuming a normal diet. If your tooth remains sore beyond the expected time or gets significantly worse, contact your dentist.
It is normal to experience discomfort after a root canal treatment, but fortunately, it can usually be managed with ibuprofen and acetaminophen.
At any time after your root canal treatment, if you have an allergic reaction, feel extreme pain or pressure, experience increasing swelling, or have a fever, contact your dentist. You should also follow up if your temporary filling or crown comes out or your bite is uneven. In these cases, you will likely need additional dental treatments.
