Eating soft foods after a dental procedure is one way to promote healing and recovery. Procedures such as tooth extraction or fitting dental implants require that you do not strain your teeth and gums. Eating soft foods will prevent you from damaging your teeth or implants while they are still vulnerable. However, continually indulging in soft foods only is not recommended. This is why.
Reasons Why Eating Soft Foods Only Can Hurt Your Teeth
While soft foods provide a comfortable environment for your teeth and gums to function, depending on them for too long might hurt your teeth in the long run. As you chew, your jawbone, gums, and teeth get stimulation to help them remain strong and healthy. When you take only soft foods, no stimulation takes place, leading to the weakening. A weakened jawbone will start to decrease in size leading to TMJ problems later.
Weak gums and teeth also present a risk to your oral and overall health. A weak tooth will get loose in its socket and start to move around as you chew. This movement might cause it to break, paving the way for a bacterial infection later. It might also cause injury as it presses down on the food when you chew.
Weak and unstimulated gums are not able to hold the teeth in place. This weakness leads to the teeth getting wiggly. Wiggly teeth might create an opening in the gums where bacteria can access the roots and deep tissues. The loose teeth also injure the gum tissues surrounding them. These injuries create scars and safe spaces that bacteria hide.
Eat the Right Foods at the Right Time
Our professionals will prescribe a soft food diet after a procedure. These diets are meant to prevent injury and bacterial infections while the teeth and gums are still vulnerable. However, they are not meant to last forever. At our offices, we will be able to recommend the proper diet for you, depending on the condition of your teeth. Contact us for an appointment today to keep your teeth and gums healthy.