Dental Trends of the Future: Leaving the Past Behind

A root canal is a surgery performed by dentists like Family Dentistry Of Woodstock, and it is necessary for many people suffering from mouth tissue disease, mouth nerve disease, or mouth blood vessel disease – but just because it's necessary doesn't mean that you're looking forward to it. The good news is that it really is possible to have a peaceful and rapid recovery, especially if you eat right. Fortunately, eating right post root canal is pretty simple, and with a few tips, it's easy to avoid the big eating mistakes, too.

Pain? Avoid It!

While many people do feel some pain once the anesthetic wears off, it can easily be avoided. Your dentist will usually prescribe two different types of medication after a root canal:

• Pain medicine to manage or eliminate pain
• Antibiotics to prevent infection

Always take these medications right on schedule. Some prescription pain medicines should be used only with food, so make sure that you eat one of the foods discussed in the next section when you take it. Another good way to avoid pain is to stay away from problem foods. These include the following:

• The Crunchers: Carrots, apples, potato chips, popcorn, and other crunchy foods. These foods can cause undue stress on the still–delicate mouth tissues.
• The Chewers: Caramel, taffy, gum, or any other chewy foods. These items could pull the gutta percha root canal filling out of place.
• The Hard Cases: Hard candy, nuts, or any other very hard foods. As with crunchy foods, these foods can cause stress on the still–delicate mouth tissues.
• The Spicy Situations: Spicy foods as a whole are best avoided because they can irritate the mouth tissue and prevent proper healing.

The Right Foods: Embrace Them!

There are a huge amount of foods that are just fine to eat after a root canal, and there is really no reason to deprive yourself with so many options. You can eat any of the following foods after your root canal:  

• Soft fruits like banana or kiwi
• Smoothies
• Ice cream
• Soup
• Cottage cheese
• Baked potatoes
• Tuna salad
• Egg salad
• Thin varieties of well–cooked pasta like thin spaghetti or cappellini
• Cooked beans or legumes
• Fish

Many dentists recommend that patients eat soft foods like those above for the first couple of days, and then transition back to regular eating. While a root canal may not be your favorite upcoming activity, you now have several tips to make the eating portion of recovery much easier. Put these into effect ASAP for the easiest root canal recovery you could imagine!