Bah Humbug! Be Mindful What You Chew With Your New Dental Implants During the Silly Season

During the silly season, family and friends love to pull out their cameras to capture the moment. They expect the subjects being photographed to flash their biggest smiles, and your beautiful new dental implants will give you a reason to smile a lot this year. However, while your implants are still settling into their new home inside your mouth, it is important you don't derail all your hard work to date by eating the wrong thing. Here is some suggestions about the types of foods you can love, and those you should avoid while you're indulging while recovering from your recent dental surgery. 

Foods You Can Load Up Your Plate With

It is going to take several months for your implants to really settle into your mouth, and while the gum is healing the tissue is very sensitive. Eating the wrong types of food will put pressure on this sensitive area and cause the gum to tear or the implants to shift. So, choose plenty of these types of food as you wander past the Christmas buffet.

• Soft fruits and vegetables. Your mouth will love you for loading up your plate with a pile of mashed potatoes (you can worry about working off all those carbs after your teeth have healed.) Well cooked fruits and vegetables on the other hand will take little chewing effort.
• Meat is tough on your mouth right now, so choose easy-to-chew options of seafood and fish instead. 
• Any stir fry dishes on the table that include noodles or rice are also going to be kind on your mouth while it goes through the healing stage. Just be sure to pick out any chewy meat that has been included as an ingredient.

Foods You Should Probably Avoid

As previously mentioned, your mouth can feel sensitive right now, so you want to make sure you don't eat any foods that are going to upset the healing process going on.

• The number one culprit on this list is nuts.To bite through these crunchy treats your jaw needs to exert some force, and this is not good for your new teeth. Other hard foods on the no-go list are hard boiled lollies and pretzels.
• Additionally, very chewy foods need to be given the heave-ho for now. Caramel lollies, sticky sweets, and gum should be saved until the implants are seated firmly in your mouth. If it is going to take more than two or three chews to process your food choice, don't eat it for Christmas dinner.

While is it sad to have to say 'no' to your favourite foods this time of year, by the time Christmas rolls around again next year your mouth will be fully healed. The smile you can flash at this year's family photos, however, makes this minor food inconvenience worth all the trouble.

Share