When getting a dental bone graft done, often the question for how long after can you eat arises. This is a common concern and understanding the healing process can help a great deal in setting the time frame.
How Long After, Can You Eat?
First 24-48 Hours
On the first day, immediately after getting through your bone graft surgery, it is a must to avoid eating solid foods. Having anything in your meals other than cool liquids may dislodge the blood clot over the surgical site, which is a requirement for healing. Stick to drinking cool water, milk, or juice during this time.
Days 2-3
After you pass the first 48 hours, you can gradually ease in with very soft, cool foods that need less chewing. The purpose is to reduce pressure and friction in the surgical area. However, your food does not have to be boring in any way. Your options include:
- Pudding
- Yogurt
- Smoothies
- Mashed potatoes
- Milkshakes
- Scrambled eggs
- Cream
Avoid anything too hot, as this could irritate the surgical site.
Days 4-7
As soon as the period of 7 days is over, you can slowly progress to slightly firmer foods, avoiding anything crunchy or chewy. The items on this list are:
- Soft oatmeal
- Softened breads
- Mashed or pureed vegetables
- Soft or mashed fruits like bananas and peaches
- Soft-cooked pasta with sauce
- Boiled fish
- Soft cheese
Second Week and Over
When you enter the second week, casually return to normalcy in diet, but continue to avoid hard, crunchy, or chewy foods that irritate the surgical area.
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Chips
- Hard candies
- Veggies cooked as you like
- Apples
- Pears
- Steak
- Jerky
Other Post-Op Care Instructions
Bleeding
Make sure you evaluate the surgical sites for any bleeding at intervals. Use the extra gauze provided if bleeding continues. Place moistened gauze directly over the surgical site and bite with constant pressure for a period of 30 minutes. Pressure is the main thing to keep under consideration to stop the bleed.
If gauze is not available, you can replace it with a moistened tea bag. Using it is quite easy to use, simply wet the tea bag, squeeze it dry, place over the surgical site, and bite. In this situation, slight oozing or episodic bleeding is normal; however, repeated gauze replacement is not needed.
Ease Discomfort
Never forget to take your prescription pain medications as they are provided to make sure adequate relief for post-operative pain. Prescription pain medications written by your dentist must always be taken with food. This helps reduce the risk of nausea.
Try taking ibuprofen every 4 to 6 hourly if your dental care specialist has not prescribed anything heavier. This is the best way forward to control breakthrough pain. If the surgery was not extensive, prescription medications might not be necessary. However, you can use over-the-counter pain medication as well since they work fine.
Nausea
Occasionally, you might feel nauseated after getting your anesthetic medication or while taking prescription pain doses. You must never attempt to take those medications on an empty stomach. Even if you feel so, having frequent meals and staying adequately hydrated can reduce the chance of nausea.
However, in case it does occur anyway, drink small portions of carbonated beverages as these help to settle the stomach. Additionally, you can also get anti-nausea medication if the situations get worse.
Swelling
Swelling is a common concern that does occur after surgery but it is different in each individual. It is usually noticeable next morning post surgery and has the tendency to increase over the first 72 hours and stay on for a week.
Cold compresses or ice packs are a great tool to limit the amount of swelling that can arise in the span of the first 48 hours. Press a cold compress on your face where the surgical site is and apply alternatively, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.
After you pass 48 hours, switch to warm compresses or a heating pad, but if both are not available, use a warm washcloth. Warm compresses soothes tenderness and reduces swelling. Use warm compress just like their cold counterpart over the swollen site. Alternate applications in 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.
Oral Hygiene and Care
Always make sure not to rinse your mouth on your surgery day and leave the surgical area undisrupted for apt healing.
Always make sure to not smoke for around 72 hours minimum as smoking delays the healing process immensely, resulting in dry sockets. The day after your surgery, you can begin rinsing your mouth after the interval of 3 to 4 hours that is usually after every meal with warm salt water. Once done, gently brush your teeth normally avoiding the surgical site. A little bleeding may occur; do not consider this unusual.
The surgical site has collagen and sutures to protect the freshly placed bone graft. It is best to protect this area for a few initial days while the healing starts.
Closing Note
Now that you know what and when to eat after getting a dental bone graft, you accentuate the healing process. Get help from a professional to make decisions that are appropriate to your specific situation. You can also leave it to the professionals at Trinity Dental Centers to guide you through this journey, restoring your smile with precision and care. Dial (281) 724-4510 to connect with us.
