You and the dentist have talked about the third set of molars in your mouth and determined that the best treatment plan for you is removal.  Now it is time to prepare for the surgery and what to expect after surgery.  After you have had teeth removed, you will experience pain and swelling in your mouth at the extraction sites, but your mouth may be a bit sore overall.  There are some foods that will help you heal and feel better and there are some foods you should avoid until you have healed more and your mouth is closer to feeling like it normally does.

The same day of your surgery, you may not even be hungry, but its important to offer your body nutrients to reduce your recovery time.  At this point, you will want to stick with cool or even cold liquids, soft foods and foods you will not have to chew. When your mouth is just starting to heal from surgery, you will not want to cause your jaw more pain from chewing or run the risk of small pieces of food getting stuck in the extraction sites.  Some great ideas for you are:

• Fruit purees including apple sauce
• Smoothies
• Hummus
• Yogurts
• Pudding
• Soups
• Jell-O
• Ice cream

The colder items may even offer some relief, like the ice packs you may be using on your jaw to reduce swelling and pain.  While the high sugar items like apple sauce and ice cream may seem the most appealing, try to balance out those with soups and smoothies.  The further along you are on your healing process, the more normal foods you can slowly introduce.  Scrambled eggs and oatmeal can help you make steps towards toasts and meats as your jaw regains strength and is less uncomfortable.

There are some foods you can plan on saving for weeks and months after your surgery before you are ready to enjoy them again.  Some of these items include:

• Nuts and Seeds as these are hard to chew and can allow for small food particles to become trapped in the sites
• Acidic foods and juices that can irritate your wounds
• Spicy foods can be painful where there are places still healing in your mouth.
• Hard to chew food like jerky and candy can pull on your stitches and create unnecessary discomfort from excessive chewing
• Alcohol can cause irritation at the extraction sites in your mouth and can interact poorly with the medications your dentist prescribed for pain and even to avoid infection

Waiting to enjoy a cold cocktail after surgery may not seem like an idea you want to entertain, but the sting of the alcohol on the site in your mouth may be reason enough to use the cold beer as a cold compress for your jaw instead temporarily.  Soon enough after your wisdom tooth extraction you will be able to drink and eat as you did before surgery.  A few weeks of careful planning can help keep your investment in your mouth protected.

More on Wisdom Teeth : Impacted Wisdom Teeth