Eating with missing molars

[wibble]

I'm going to be having 4 or 5 molars out and I was wondering how people manage to eat with teeth missing? I already have to chew only on my right side as I have 2 teeth next to each other on the left I can't chew on, they are being removed but I'm having 2 on my right side out too so I'm not sure how I'm going to manage? Is it a soup diet from now on? I'm worried that I won't be able to chew properly, or that it will hurt my gums where the teeth came out or that bits of food will get stuck or something. Also how long after extractions are you able to start thinking about eating?

 

[Charity]

It's not forever!!!

I'll admit that eating can take a bit of creativity in the very beginning, after you've had extractions on both sides at the same time. For those first few days, it is tender there if you bite down hard on something. I had to either stick to very soft foods, or be careful not to let any of what I was eating slip to the back portion of my mouth. But that's only in the beginning! Over time, as the extraction sites heal, those surfaces become as tough and sturdy as the rest of the gums on your mouth.

Everyone heals at a different rate, so I won't make promises on a timeframe, but I know I was perfectly fine to eat whatever I wanted within two or three weeks. And I did eat even on the days immediately after my extractions, just very carefully, and only mushy foods. The first few days are the hardest, since you will be instinctively babying those areas-- but it doesn't continue to be a problem for long.

 

[wibble]

Thank you charity, that's good-ish news then lol! I reckon I can cope with mush for a few weeks!

 

[Charity]

As I recall, I only actually ate "mush" for a day or two... After that, I was too anxious to get back to regular foods lol, so I started eating other things too-- just very carefully!! I know I was eating normal foods by about the third or fourth day, just sort of nibbling them with my front teeth like a rabbit...

You'll soon figure out what works best for you. Just don't try rice!!! Lol... I've heard it from others and learned it for myself as well. Little bits of rice get stuck like CRAZY in extraction sites!!!

 

[wibble]

Lol I haven't eaten rice for ages as it got stuck in cavities I just had 2 teeth out today and I've had some soup but I can't wait to start eating properly. I am really scared of getting food stuck in the extraction site. What do you do if you get something stuck?

 

[Charity]

When that happened to me, I would just hold some liquid in my mouth and tilt my head to all different angles. That lets fluid flow around and over the site without it being harsh or anything. Sometimes that dislodged the food, sometimes not. If it didn't work right then, I would wait a while and try it again later. Eventually, it will come out on its own. I'm always afraid of being too rough with my gums after an extraction, and I might tend to be overly cautious about it, I don't know... I don't like to poke around at all, or do anything rough to it for the first few days til things have settled somewhat. But everything healed just fine, so I guess I didn't do anything TOO horribly wrong lol.

 

[wibble]

Ah that's what I've been doing.
Thank you for the reassurance

 

[archaeodani2]

wibble == It took me about a week to be brave enough to eat anything but mushy stuff (afraid to pop open the stitch and/or cause a problem with the extraction site.

I've since devoured =
crunchy (thin crust) pizza, apples, carrots, popcorn, peanuts, pretzel sticks, biscotti, etc == stuff I flat refused to eat before, when my teeth were bad.

It took about a month before the gum wasn't so tender = definitely give it time before you start chowing down on the really crunchy stuff - work up to it
...
I've had peanuts get stuck in the gap between teeth = which now is really funny, whereas before that tooth was pulled was REALLY painful..


you'll be fine