Totally relate to the crunchy food cravings—I remember by day three I was seriously eyeing a bag of tortilla chips in my pantry like it was some kind of forbidden treasure, haha. And yeah, temperature sensitivity was no joke. Weirdly enough, super hot stuff bothered me more than cold. I made the mistake of sipping on some hot tea thinking it'd soothe things, but nope—instant regret. Ended up sticking to lukewarm broth and smoothies for a bit.
One thing that helped me was mashed sweet potatoes with a little cinnamon and butter. Felt like real comfort food, and it was budget-friendly too. Also, avocado mashed up with a pinch of salt saved me when I wanted something savory but gentle on my mouth. Hang in there—it gets better faster than you think!
Mashed sweet potatoes sound tasty, but I'd be cautious with cinnamon right after an extraction. Spices—even mild ones—can sometimes irritate the healing area, especially if tiny particles get stuck. Personally, I stuck to plain mashed potatoes or oatmeal (cooled down, of course) just to play it safe. Avocado's definitely gentle though...wish I'd thought of that earlier. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but better safe than sorry when it comes to healing gums.
"Maybe I'm overly cautious, but better safe than sorry when it comes to healing gums."
You're definitely not being overly cautious—gum healing can be tricky, and everyone's sensitivity varies. I remember sticking to cooled oatmeal and smoothies myself. Hang in there, it gets easier soon enough...
You're spot on about gum healing being tricky—my kid went through a similar thing recently. We found that even foods you'd think are soft, like scrambled eggs, sometimes caused discomfort. Ended up relying mostly on yogurt, applesauce, and lukewarm soups. It was tedious, but worth it to avoid complications. Like you said:
"better safe than sorry when it comes to healing gums."
Couldn't agree more.
Interesting points here, and you're definitely right about soft foods sometimes being deceptive. Still, I wonder if sticking strictly to ultra-soft foods like yogurt and applesauce might prolong the sensitivity period a bit? I've noticed with some patients that gently introducing slightly firmer (but still manageable) textures after a few days can actually help gums adapt quicker. Of course, everyone's different, and as you said:
"better safe than sorry when it comes to healing gums."
Just curious if others have had similar experiences or noticed something different...
