A hot slice of Margherita pizza is my all-time favorite food, but I haven’t had the chance to have pizza in a while due to having wisdom teeth removal surgery last week. This has led to my cravings skyrocketing. As a result, I quickly looked up when can I eat pizza after wisdom teeth removal.
Several factors, such as age, health, and medical records, come into play when deciding when you can eat pizza after wisdom teeth removal. However, in most cases, it is recommended to avoid eating any solid or chewy food that includes pizza for at least two weeks after the surgery.
However, this is not all there is to it. Continue reading this article to find out more.
When Can I Eat Pizza After Wisdom Teeth Removal?
It is usually advised to slowly transition from soft to hard food as you recover from your wisdom tooth removal surgery. Removing your teeth leaves an opening in your mouth that is sensitive to crunchy, crumby, or acidic foods, and pizza combines all three.
Pizza has a hard crust that needs to be chewed by the molars (wisdom teeth are essentially extra molars that our jaws do not have space for). And the part of the mouth where a dry socket is left after the wisdom teeth have been taken out.
Pizzas contain multiple acidic-flavored toppings and hard crusts. Dentists recommend refraining from grabbing a slice of your favorite fast food for at least 2 weeks after the surgery.
What Food To Eat And What To Avoid After Wisdom Teeth Surgery
Here is a chart showing what you should avoid and focus on after removing your wisdom teeth.
| Things To Eat | Things To Avoid |
| Cottage Cheese | Acidic Fruits |
| Smoothies | Nuts |
| Mashed Potatoes | Anything Deep an Air Fried |
| Scrambled Eggs | Crispy And Crunchy Pizza |
Should I Refrain From All Pizzas After Wisdom Teeth Removal?
The short answer is yes.
The most pizza crust is not soft enough to enter your mouth for at least 2 weeks after the surgery. Different flavors will bring with them other perils. The cheeses in the cheese pizza pose the biggest risk of sticking to the dry socket area.
The dry socket is usually covered by a blood clot that keeps it safe. Chewy ingredients like mozzarella cheese can remove the blood clot and initiate bleeding.
Spices, onion, and sauce can also cause similar problems. Acidic toppings usually irritate the dry socket and cause infections. They irritate the sensitive gum lining after the operation, increasing the possibility of open stitches and acute pain from the spices touching the bones inside the socket.
Pizzas come sprinkled with spices, fitted with meat, and stuffed with cheese. The large crumbs from the crust can uproot the blood clot protecting the area that has been operated on, leading to infections such as a dry socket or nerve injury.
Infections due to the irritation caused by pizza topping flavors or crust can lead to dry sockets and nerve damage.
Dry sockets can cause lingering pain in the gum and jaw, while nerve damage and temporary numbness in your tongue, lower lip, chin, teeth, and gums.
Why Do I Have To Wait This Long After My Surgery?
Different people have different procedures, and the number of teeth extracted varies from person to person. If you have more than one tooth extraction, the time you will take to heal will also increase. The maximum number of teeth people have extracted usually four. The soft tissue in every socket heals in about 3-4 weeks.
Considering that you have avoided eating solid foods as much as possible, and depending on the number of teeth you have extracted, the safest and the most time you should wait before having a pizza is about 8 weeks.
How To Know I Am Ready To Eat Pizza After Wisdom Teeth Surgery?
There are a few things to look out for. If you check out, you are more than free to eat pizza. Here is what
Green Flag From Your Dentist
This is the most crucial part of it all. After your post-surgery routine checkup with your dentist, if he says you are good to eat normally, then that is likely a green flag that you will be able to eat your favorite slice of pizza again.
No More Stitches
Once your stitches have been removed or dissolved, that’s a sign that your tooth hole is most likely healed. Which should make it safe for you to eat pizza again.
Healed Jaws
It will take some time, but your jaws should have reduced stiffness sooner or later, meaning they will likely be freer. This is a good sign because it means you will be able to chew food more easily now, making it easier for you to eat pizza.
Pain-Free Tooth Hole
This is probably the most vital thing to observe. After surgery, the most common issue you will face when eating is a sensitive tooth hole. So, when that starts to heal, and the area becomes pain-free, you should be able to munch on your favorite pizza.
How To Make Pizza That Is Safe To Eat Post Wisdom Teeth Removal
Yes, you may have to wait a while before eating a proper takeaway pizza post-surgery. But that does not mean you can’t modify a pizza to make it safe after wisdom teeth removal.
Here is a step-by-step guide on making a soft pizza that is safe after removing your wisdom teeth.
- Start making the dough with milk, flour, yeast, and salt, according to your preference. We recommend replacing water with milk as it provides calcium that will help you recover and also as it will make the dough soft.
- Now, let the dough sit for at least 3 hours to rise and moisten.
- Then separate it into two equal pieces and knead it well while adding a bit of flour and oil.
- Once done, place it in a pizza pan
Now, coming to the toppings, we suggest not using too much cheese, as cheese makes pizza chewy.
- A slight amount of mozzarella or other non-chewy cheese like cheddar and tomato puree should be fine. We suggest using pure home-grown tomatoes as it’s less acidic than store-bought ones.
- While recovering, keep the pizza with just cheese. Don’t add anything else that may make the pizza hard to chew on.
- Lastly, place it in the oven according to the suggested settings and bake it for 5 minutes. More than five minutes will make the pizza too crunchy.
There you go, you have a pizza that is safe to eat post wisdom teeth surgery.
What To Do If Pizza Gets In The Way Of Recovery?
If you are facing pain or other issues after eating pizza post-surgery, here are some things that will ease the pain.
Honey it up!
Regular honey has been known to work wonders as an after-surgery remedy. Honey has been known to have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Put raw honey on sterile gauze and place it on the affected area.
Change the gauze every few hours if you keep it on consistently. If the pizza’s acidic elements irritate the gum, honey can come to the rescue.
Flushing Out the Dry Socket
Warm salt water is known for its bacteria-eliminating properties. This can either be done with water or the special syringe provided by the doctor. Pizza portions stuck in the gum creating a dry socket can be cleaned out instantly.
Clove
Clove acts as a natural numbing agent. Since the gum can be sensitive and be subject to heavy toothache, you can place clove oil and whole cloves around the affected area to relieve the pain.
While honey and salt water clean out the area and protect it from inflammation, cloves can keep the area numb and make you feel better.
FAQ’s;
- Are all types of pizza sauce a threat?
Pizza sauce is usually dense. The gum, after surgery, is sensitive to all solid, sticky, and dense elements. The sauce is more likely to remove the blood clot protecting the socket.
- Which crust is safe?
Each crust comes with its own set of challenges. A stuffed crust can leave crumbs in your dry socket, and the cheese can stick to your inner bones. This can lead to excruciating pain. Similarly, for thick, thin, and crackers – when you bite, the crust disperses into little pieces that can get lodged inside the dry socket, leading to infection.
- When can I eat solid food after tooth extraction?
The tooth socket takes about a minimum of two weeks to heal. It is suggested to start eating solid food after two weeks to ensure maximum recovery.
Final Words
So, when can I have pizza after teeth removal?
To answer your question, anything crunchy, chewy, hard, and solid will put your affected area at risk. And a pizza is all of those things combined into one. So, give yourself two weeks and keep away from your favorite fast food for at least two weeks if you have just had your wisdom teeth removed!