While the LANAP procedure is far less painful and invasive than traditional surgery, there is still a post-operative recovery time that patients need to observe. This is not to recover from pain (because discomfort is minimal in laser periodontal therapy), but rather to observe the best possible diet to give gums and teeth the time they need to heal.
Cosmetic dentists recommend a diet that begins with liquefied foods. For the first three days following Laser Periodontal Therapy, cosmetic dentists advise their patients to follow such a diet to speed up the healing process.
Anything that can be put in a blender and liquefied works just fine. In fact, a person can take any of their favorite foods and blend them into a form that is ideal for the post-LANAP diet.
Cosmetic dentists advise their patients to do so in order to protect the clot that is acts as gauze, of sorts, between the gum and the teeth. They do not, however, advise their patients to ever drink through a straw.
This is because the suction of drinking through a straw creates a vacuum in your mouth that disturbs the gumline. Drinking from a glass is much better, as is the taking of daily vitamins.
For the next four days after LANAP, the patient can begin to eat foods with a ?mushy? constitution. These include:
Anything that can be liquefied in a food blender
Wheat, oatmeal, and malt o meal
Mashed potatoes or baked potatoes with or without butter and sour cream
Mashed banana, mashed avocado, applesauce or any blended fruit except berries with seeds.
Creamed soup or any kind of broth
Mashed, steamed vegetables are excellent for the blood, tissue healing, and they are also very easy on the teeth.
Mashed yams, baked sweet potatoes, or butternut squash are great choices for carbohydrates.
Cottage cheese cream and soft cheese
Creamy peanut butter without solid pieces is another good snack food.
Scrambled, poached, or fried eggs
Melted cheese is a good topping for a variety of foods.
Omelets can have cheese and avocado.
Jell-o, pudding, ice cream, yogurt make good desserts.
Milk shake and smoothies are good and can be blended with fruit so long as there are no seeds.
Ensure slim fast -nutritional drinks are great meal substitutes and taste great as well.
Cosmetic dentists advise patients to never chew gum, candy, cookies, chips, nuts, or anything hard or crunchy. There should be nothing with seeds or hard pieces, or any meat that shreds and is able to lodge under the gum or between teeth.
Seven to ten days following LANAP, it is ok to start eating soft foods. These are foods that have the consistency of pasta, fish, chicken or steamed vegetables. You may then, under the supervision of your Houston cosmetic dentist, gradually ease back your regular diet choices.
Please remain aware of the fact that even 10 day after a LANAP procedure, the gums are not completely healed. Patients must continue to make smart food choices, and when in doubt, always err on the side of soft foods.