Can I Eat Candy After Tooth Extraction?

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Congratulations! You’ve just had a tooth extracted. Or…Good Luck! You or your child are soon about to have a tooth extracted. Whatever the situation is with you right now, you’re here because you are wondering about whether or not you can eat candy after your tooth extraction. Well, you’ll be particularly pleased you stopped by. Here is why. 

So, can I eat candy after tooth extraction? You shouldn’t eat candy straight after you have had a tooth extraction. Your mouth needs to recover. For that recovery to take place, the wound in your mouth must be spared of anything that can disturb or infect it. Candy is a problem for a number of reasons, including that it is often hard or chewy in texture and high in acidity and sugar. 

Of course, you can eat candy eventually after a tooth extraction. 

But the real question is, how long after your tooth extraction will you be able to enjoy your favorite candies again? 

So let’s find out!

Should You Eat Candy After A Tooth Extraction?

You should not eat candy after a tooth extraction until your mouth has fully healed. Tough texture, high acidic content, and high sugar content are all reasons why candy should not be eaten after tooth extraction, as they can harm your mouth.

So there you go. You’ll have to take a temporary break from the vast majority of candy while you allow the wound in your mouth to heal. But it’s no surprise.

Your dentist has yanked a tooth out of your mouth. Although I hope he didn’t yank it. I hope he gently extracted whilst you didn’t feel a thing, having had an injection of an anesthetic. 


Your tooth is out, and now there’s a big gaping hole in your gums. It is, in fact, a wound! Because remember, your tooth did not fall out naturally of its own accord. 

It had to be pulled out for whatever reason.

Now you have to be careful so that the wound in your mouth/gums can heal properly. 

Dental hygiene will be a key at this time, but that doesn’t just include making sure your teeth are nice and clean. 

It will also include monitoring what foods you put into your mouth. 

Because sadly, some foods won’t aid the recovery of the wound that the dentist has left you with. In fact, some foods will hinder the recovery process.

One of those foods…is candy. 

So let’s go through the individual features that make candy a no-go after you’ve had a tooth extraction.

Texture

Candies come in a variety of textures. Those candies that are especially a threat after tooth extraction are ones that are hard, sticky, or/and chewy.

When you’ve had a tooth extracted, your teeth are going to be very sensitive.

Eating candies that produce stress and tension on your teeth when you bite into them are, therefore, not a good idea.

If candy is chewed near the wound, then any healing tissues and clots could dislodge under the stress and activity. 

This will set your recovery back, but it could even lead to a painful infection. OUCH!

You also don’t want candies getting stuck in your mouth during this time.

Really all this is about is keeping your mouth a nice, safe, and clean environment for the wound to heal. 

Think about it in terms of yourself. Say you’ve broken your leg. What do you want? Don’t say lots of candy to eat!

Ok, what do you need? You need to rest and recover in a calm environment where someone brings you healthy meals. 

That’s exactly what your mouth wants as well. No stress. 

Acidic Content

Candies, particularly sour candies, can have high acidic content. 

This acidity is a problem because it can lower the pH range in your mouth. This can lead to your wound not healing very quickly.

It can even lead to the healing tissue inside the wound dissolving. 

So by eating anything acidic, you’ll be increasing the recovery time of the wound in your mouth. This means you’ll be going even longer without being able to properly eat candy.

High In Sugar

Let’s remember that after having a tooth extracted, you need to eat a healthy and balanced diet that will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to heal the wound in your gums.

Sugar is not part of a healthy and balanced diet. In fact, sugar can lead to further dental problems. 

Look at it this way. Your teeth are vulnerable right now. Not because their morale is low after one of their buddies has been taken from them, but because your mouth is healing. 

That impacts the rest of your teeth. 

They’re susceptible to further damage or tooth decay which can be inflicted by high amounts of sugar.

At the same time, sugar feeds bacteria. So any sugar that you put in your mouth will only be helping any bacteria out in there. 

And trust me, if you’ve got a wound in there, you can bet that there are some bacteria lurking about as well.

So by eating high-sugar candies, you feed bacteria in your mouth, which could slow down the healing of your wound. 

After all, bacteria isn’t exactly what comes to mind when you think of suitable healing conditions.

How Long After A Tooth Extraction Can I Eat Candy?

The average person will be able to continue eating candy around 1-2 weeks after tooth extraction. Though, it ultimately depends on how long it takes for the gums and wounds to heal, which will vary case by case. 

Let’s be frank here. I may be a candy-lover, but some things are bigger in life. 

Perhaps the biggest thing in your life is your health. Because without it, you wouldn’t have any life in the first place.

So you need to give your mouth and its new wound all the time in the world that it needs to get fixed back up and fully recovered. 

Only then will you be able to enjoy candy without the risk of pain again.

After a tooth extraction, you should stick to only soft foods right after.

With candy, you should avoid it for a bit longer than just right after. Because even if you’re eating soft candies or ones that melt in your mouth, you can still suffer pain through irritation to your wound and gums. It doesn’t want acid and sugar in there, remember?

You want to keep the clot in the wound full of blood.

For candy, it will depend on when your wound is fixed and healed. That will take between 1 to 2 weeks if you’re following your dentist’s advice properly.

Your dentist will give the exact figures for this as he will know your case best.

What Type Of Candy Is Best After Tooth Extraction?

The best type of candy to eat after a tooth extraction is that which is low in sugar, incredibly soft, or liquidy. 

I really wouldn’t recommend eating any artificial sugar until after 2 days.

In fact, I wouldn’t recommend you eat any until after your wound has healed. 

But for those of you who can’t resist the urges your sweet tooth gives you, let’s talk about some candy that you can eat after tooth extraction.

For a start, candy needs to contain very low amounts of sugar. Sugar is a problem in the post-tooth extraction situation, as we have previously discussed.

Then you need something that is really soft. Liquidy would be even better because, as discussed, candy needs to be of the right texture in this situation; otherwise, problems can arise.

Bear in mind that some of these aren’t actually candies per se. They’re more sweet goods! 

I would also recommend that you clean your teeth after eating so that your mouth is cleared of any excess sugar.

  • Sugarless Candies
  • Jell-O
  • Ice Cream
  • Donuts
  • Cheesecake
  • Mousse
  • Milk-soaked Cookies
  • Milkshakes
  • Soft Puddings
  • Custard
  • Cupcakes

Read more: Can I Eat Ice Cream After Tooth Extraction?

What Should You Eat After A Tooth Extraction

You should eat soft liquid foods that are easy to eat and require little to no chewing.

That eliminates quite a lot of foods, I know.

But follow those criteria, and you should be fine. 

To help you get started, here’s a list of foods that get the green light for eating after a tooth extraction.

  • Smoothies
  • Cool Soups
  • Pureed Foods
  • Mashed Foods
  • Scrambled Eggs

Other Foods You Will Want To Avoid After A Tooth Extraction?

You will want to avoid hard, chewy foods after a tooth extraction. You’ll also want to avoid acidic foods too. Foods that will hinder your wound’s recovery are the problem.

Yeah, so that’s for all you candy haters out there who came to get confirmation that candy is the enemy in the situation of a tooth extraction.

Well, guess what? It’s not! Other foods should be avoided too. Take a look at the list below, which includes several examples.

  • Hard Fruit & Veg
  • Spicy Food
  • Chewy Foods
  • Acidic Foods
  • Other Hard Foods
  • Chocolate

Read more: Can I Eat Chocolate After Tooth Extraction?

Finally

So, it looks like you’re going to have to take a break from candy-eating for a bit.

But don’t worry. Once you get through that and your wound has healed, the first bite of your favorite candy tastes as good as it did the first time you had it.

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