You’re hungry aren’t you? Thinking about your favorite? If you’re here, I’m sure you want to know if you can eat pizza after a tooth extraction?
In this article, we will take a look at if pizza should be something you should be thinking of eating, especially after getting your tooth extracted.
So, let’s get right into it.
First Up, Can You Eat Pizza After An Extraction?
When you get a tooth extracted, there is a long list of things you can and cannot do. This is because it takes some time after your surgery is complete for a blood clot which effectively seals the spot in the gum where the tooth was removed.
Most dentists will advise against eating for the first 12 to 24 hours. So, if you want to eat pizza, the answer is definitely no, you should try to avoid hard foods for a bit.
How long you keep avoiding pizza after that will depend on a number of factors that we will explore in detail below.
What type of tooth was removed?
Dental professions explain that larger teeth such as wisdom teeth take longer to clot and heal, compared to smaller teeth such as incisors. In addition, lower wisdom teeth require more care when compared to upper ones, so you have to be guided accordingly.
How many teeth did you remove?
This is pretty much self-explanatory. Multiple teeth will take longer to heal than a single tooth. In addition, the pain level for multiple extractions will likely be much higher than for a single tooth, thus discouraging eating anyway.
Did you get stitches?
Surprisingly, teeth that are stitched after the operation will take longer to heal. Anecdotal evidence indicates that they remain tender for longer and can cause pain for patients when they try to eat as well.
How Long Should You Wait Before Eating Pizza After An Extraction?
You should honestly be guided by your dentist in this regard, however, in the absence of that advice, it is advisable to wait up to three or four days
A good rule of thumb is that you can try restarting solid foods once you have no pain or numbness in the gum or jawline. If you feel any discomfort or pain after having solid food, then you should consult your dentist.
Why Wait Before Eating Pizza?
An extraction is a pretty complicated procedure. It involves several blood vessels, nerves and muscle tissue. Experts believe it takes about a week for the gum to fully heal following an extraction. During the healing process, there are several different things that occur.
The first part of the process involves clotting of the blood. At the site where the tooth is removed, blood will clot in order to stem the blood flow that was connected to the tooth. The teeth are living organisms that have hollow chambers called pulp canals.
This region of the tooth is extremely sensitive, and it is responsible for providing blood flow and nutrients to each tooth in order to keep it alive. During an extraction the vessels connected to the pulp canal are broken and so clotting is necessary to prevent the patient bleeding out.
The clotting period is very delicate, and eating hard foods can disrupt the process and cause damage to the gum which is healing. As such over the first day, most dentists will recommend that patients consume only liquids or soft foods that do not require chewing. As such, pizza is a no no during this stage.
Around the second and third days, the clotting should be complete, inflammation should be down and any associated swelling that had occurred should have begun to disappear. At this stage, semi-soft foods are now tolerable as the patient should not be in any pain.
At the last stage, around days four to seven, the gum and mouth should be back to normal and the patient should be able to eat pizza and other hard foods that they were accustomed to, prior to the extraction.
The Takeaway
A tooth extraction is not as simple a process as it appears. There are many stages associated with the healing of the mouth after an extraction is done. Due to the sensitive nature of the healing process, there are several foods that patients need to avoid immediately after completing an extraction. Pizza after an extraction, along with hard foods and carbs fall into this category
At the same time, every extraction is different. Factors such as the size and location of the tooth will determine pain and exposure level, thus dictating how soon a patient will feel ready to eat. So, be guided by your dentist and your own internal cues.
Note, however, that you should not be going more than a week with pain or tenderness at the extraction site. Therefore, reach out to your dental provider if you feel that something is wrong.
