# Soft foods help - pulling all teeth...



## lemonthyme7 (Jul 8, 2010)

My DH will be getting dentures in June after his gums heal up from having all his teeth extracted. He just had 6 pulled today and goes back tomorrow and has the rest of his teeth on his bottom jaw removed. I know the usual way is to have them all extracted at once but it is not in the budget. His dental insurance renews the first of February so he is using up the $1,000 we have now and will renew for another $1,000 on the first. The oral surgeon was just to expensive. He has to wait til June to get his vacation pay so he can buy his dentures. You can see where this is going. Between now and June he will have no teeth and will have to eat soft foods. That's a long time for me to come up with new stuff to feed his so he doesn't get bored. I would LOVE some suggestions for soft foods and if anyone else has gone through this any advice would also be welcome.
Here's a few of the things I have thought of:
mashed potatoes/gravy
applesauce
winter squash
yogurt
noodles (when healed a bit more?)
pudding/jello
smooth soups


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

They usually like to put in the dentures the same day they pull the teeth, so the jaw heals properly and the bone , etc.

He will be able to chew of sorts, after about a month, so yes, things like Mac and Cheese, baked potato, spaghetti, soups , hamburger, ravioli, etc will be doable.

You can also mince up meats, and larger foods.


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## Kmac15 (May 19, 2007)

I second the idea of getting the dentures at the time of extraction.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

How about scrambled egg or smoothies?


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

I hear ya I just had 4 pulled.
And you about nailed it about the foods.

The dentist is waiting 6 weeks before I go back and get fitted and impressions taken, and such things as that.
It will take a month after that before I will get the partial put in.~!
Had this done on Dec 21 and my first dental appointment after those 4 were pulled, is not until Feb 6~! And then 4 appointments after that join gin to March before I will have the partial put in.
Yes eggs for sure I have done a lot of eating of eggs.


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## Guest (Jan 30, 2012)

Nutritional drinks, like Ensure, etc.


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## Jan in CO (May 10, 2002)

There are two schools of thought on having the plates inserted the same time as your teeth are extracted. Some dentists will make you wait til your gums are done shrinking, so the dentures fit better. Others do the immediate dentures. My dd had them put in right after her teeth were all pulled and has had to go back several times to have them relined or adjusted. My father waited two years (!) to get his, and could even eat corn on the cob with those gums. I can't think of anything else for foods that hasn't already been mentioned, except maybe ice cream?


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

Not spaghetti, it's too hard to chew up. It'd have to be cut into small pieces. 

After his gums heal you might be surprised at how much he can eat without his teeth and have little trouble.

I waited for 3 months after my teeth were pulled(I still have the bottom front) for my dentures and have not had a bit of problem with them. Everyone that I know that has teeth put in immediately always have problems with their teeth not fitting right.


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

I think after his gums heal it would be okay to eat more foods with texture. Our neighbor, who's a Vet, went through a delayed process for dentures last year. He got to where he could even eat peanuts so I'm thinking your husband might not have the problem you expect. Hoping for the best and that he soon gets his dentures.


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

Ice cream. (With chocolate sauce?) 

Mashed up banana. For that matter, lots of fruits and vegetables puree well. 
One of our favorite dishes is rutabega and carrot, cooked and then mashed together. We like to leave it lumpy but you could certainly puree it. 

You could try juicing fruits and vegetables, too. 

Shredded chicken? 

My MIL makes something called a mince, it is basically hamburger boiled with carrots and onions for a long time, in a sauce or gravy. She flavors hers with gravy packets. We use Worchestershire sauce and malt vinegar, too. You serve it over mashed potatoes.


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## yikes (Jan 23, 2011)

canned hash, canned chili, pot roast with veggies, fish, rice with mushroom soup, cooked oats,


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## HilltopDaisy (Feb 26, 2003)

I would think you could puree just about anything in a blender, no?


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## wanda1950 (Jan 18, 2009)

My nephew had a terrible accident & had his mouth wired shut plus pretty extensive tooth damage. His stepmom used a blender & anything fairly tender. Added gravy, milk, juice or whatever is appropriate & whirled it up to where he could drink it. 

I think your hubby will soon (after his bleeding stops & the gums are healing) be able to eat most fairly soft stuff--all canned fruit & even tender hamburger like saulsbury steak or sausage gravy. Most softer vegetables too--snything canned. 


Mama said her dad ate everything including wilted lettuce & onions with cornbread but he had years without teeth.

My husband got his dentures put in immediately--we have an affordable dentures near & he did great. Mama waited weeks on hers & she did fine, too. My BIL will not wear his & is so timid (he's a bit of a bully except with authority) he won't insist on adjustments. You have to be sure to get the adjustments done & it is included in the cost as far as I've ever known.

When I had my wisdom teeth removed, one just didn't want to heal. Finally had to use a syringe & salt water to squirt it clean several times a day. So be sure he cleans his mouth as much as he can--the warm salt water felt good to me. 

Wish him the best.


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

Been there, done that. I was told that I'd have to wait for the gums to heal. I stocked up on heavy wheat beer, and soon discovered that I could manage a Bubba Burger. That was a bit of heaven right there.


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## lemonthyme7 (Jul 8, 2010)

Thanks for all the great suggestions. His denist is one who wants you to wait until the gums heal before getting the dentures and DH is fine with that. He's understandbly sore right now but did eat some Spagghetios (sp?) and jello. My DD has a huge tub of protein drink powder that she used when working out (even though she didn't need it) so he can use that as extra calories too. He says he's going to use this time to lose weight but of course he needs energy for work. I think like many said he will be surprised what he can eat when his gums heal up some.


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## EDDIE BUCK (Jul 17, 2005)

wanda1950 said:


> My nephew had a terrible accident & had his mouth wired shut plus pretty extensive tooth damage. His stepmom used a blender & anything fairly tender. Added gravy, milk, juice or whatever is appropriate & whirled it up to where he could drink it.
> 
> I think your hubby will soon (after his bleeding stops & the gums are healing) be able to eat most fairly soft stuff--all canned fruit & even tender hamburger like saulsbury steak or sausage gravy. Most softer vegetables too--snything canned.
> 
> ...


Yea, thats where I got mine,"Affordable Dentures".You get one set of temp dentures,then about one year you get the perm set.I think mine were seven hundred $ including everything.

My first set wore good for about six months,then they got loose.I had two adjustments with no help.That bottom plate would start floating around and I was about to swallow the dang thing.

I told them to go ahead with the permanent set, and if they won't any better,I'd go toothless.:gaptooth:

They put that set in and they feel like your real teeth.Eat anything I want to, and only have to use a little denture creme(glue) on the bottom plate.Its been five years and I love them teeth.Sometimes I forget to take them out at night and wear them when I'm sleeping.

Oh, tell your husband don't eat anything with small seeds in it like blueberries or small pieces of peanuts.They will feel like sandspurs between the plate and gums.Yea,I also waited for my gums to heal before getting teeth.


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## Charleen (May 12, 2002)

Going to need some protein - I suggest baking egg custard. Lots of protein in that!


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

He will need soft foods for the first few days, yogurt, ice cream, mashed taters and the like. Once his gums start healing a bit, a week, maybe two at the most its pretty much back to normal. Nuts and really crunchy things can hurt a bit, but I never cared much for them anyway. I had all my teeth out back in 05 I think it was. That is when I discovered that teeth are highly overrated! I wear my teeth if we are going out in public only because my Yvonne thinks I look better. Always take them out to eat though, they are just too uncomfortable to eat with. You get a mater or berry seed under a plate and it drives ya nuts.


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## Forest (Oct 14, 2010)

Why not get one of those baby food blenders? You could just puree your regular food for him. Then he can just eat basically what everyone else eats, and no worries about malnutrition...


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

Yeah, right... you ever try eating pureed foods? Ewww! Just a step above eating barf in my opinion. Gimme something I can gum to death!


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## Forest (Oct 14, 2010)

Haha, no I haven't... just fed it to the kiddo...


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## rags57078 (Jun 11, 2011)

scrambled eggs , soup , pudding , oatmeal , mashed taters/ gravy . I had my last 4 pulled dec 26th. now I am eating steak, pork chops and ect . once they heal some let him eat whatever he wants its no big deal , heck had chips and dip last night


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Tell him not to bet on losing weight. My DH had is jaws wired shut for 6 weeks once for a broken jaw and he gained weight! The oral surgeon said he had never had that happen, DH explained all he ate were milk shakes and malts for the 6 weeks.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

It seems that once his gums heal to the point that they are no longer painful, he should be able to eat anything as long as it is cut into small enough pieces that he can swallow it safely. He can gum it to death before swallowing.

I had gastric bypass surgery in November. I knew that I would be on a liquid diet for three weeks before surgery, and for three weeks after. I knew it, and accepted it. I tried to stock up on a large variety of different drinks so that I wouldn't burn out on any one thing. I found that I SERIUOSLY craved taste, texture and flavor! Oh, I woke up thinking about foods that were forbidden! I craved not only the taste of the foods I loved, but also texture. I missed feeling and hearing food crunch in my mouth.

If everything is pureed, he will start to have those cravings too, so if you can make sure that everything is cut into tiny pieces, small enough to swallow safely but not necessarily pureed, he can eat it, but not feel so deprived.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

quiche??
meatloaf/meatballs worked over with plenty of egg and breadcrumbs to make it softer


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## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

Cheese pudding/mickey mouse souffle. Grease a casserole dish. Ripe or dice bread and cheese into it. Soak with milk beaten with egg. Bake till knife blade inserted comes out clean.


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## Fourthistles (Feb 24, 2003)

All the suggestions for soft foods are good. FYI waiting for healing prior to impressions is the better way, but many people don't want to go "toothless" for appearance sake so they get immediate dentures, inserted same day as the last extractions. The longer you heal, the better the fit. The bone will continue remodeling for the rest of your life and the dentures will need to be relined after a few years. The timeline will vary from person to person. Note: I've been a Certified Dental Assistant for 35 years and know wherof I speak!


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Lots of fruit smoothies, yogurt, pudding, custard, milkshakes and ice cream. I had a bad collision with my jaw to a belgian horse hoof, lost 3 teeth, had 4 reset and broke both sides of my jaw. Wired and pinned for 3 months and then had to have one side rebroke as my teeth didn't line up. Another 21/2 months. All through a straw....James


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## Guest (Jan 31, 2012)

All I know is that when I bite somebody's head off, they say it takes a little longer, and I'm a little more vicious than before. Crybabies.


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

What I did when I had mine pulled and the dentures put in the same day is, I put my meat, (fried chicken, steak, pork chops, what ever) in the food processor after it was cooked. Didn't look too appetizing but it didn't change the taste. I did that for about a week then started gradually eating firmer stuff.


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## therunbunch (Oct 5, 2009)

Lots of smoothies. I have an electronic book of awesome smoothies that are packed with additional proteins and stuff if you're interested I could email it to you. They are extremely filling.


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

grits

grits n cheese

grits n eggs

easy to eat but still have some texture

I got some quiona, but haven't cooked it yet, maybe that's an option?


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## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

I lived on hamburger helper/tuna helper (lots of variety), and scrambled eggs for 6 weeks. The oral surgeon reshaped my jawbone so the immediate dentures wouldn't fit.


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## giraffe_baby (Oct 15, 2005)

One recipe that would be good is 

Chicken tendars (or pork) slow cooked in crock pot with cream of mushroom soup, a pkt of onion soup mix, and seasonings... then when ready to eat, pull all "meat' out and shred into smaller peices and put back in pot (gravy) then laddle over mashed potatoes


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## lemonthyme7 (Jul 8, 2010)

Everyone has given me such good ideas! I do have some quinoa and DH likes it so that's another dish I can fix.
giraffe_baby: that sounds yummy even if he wasn't getting teeth pulled! 
DH does like Hamburger Helper and I have some boxes on the shelf. He got the last 8 on his bottom jaw pulled today so is pretty sore but I'm sure in a few days he will be able to eat a wider variety of soft foods.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Dad had to eat his food from the blender for years. Just put meal in and blend. He said if it didn't taste good, he added peanut butter. Still not good, more peanut butter....James


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## Gregg Alexander (Feb 18, 2007)

Them choppers in same day.


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

Sorry to hear about your husband. I will be praying for comfort and relief and provision.

~Eggs (as mentioned, cooked different ways for variety)
~Tapioca Pudding is a comfort food for me when I have dental work (I sometimes add canned peaches to it for a change)
~Corned Beef Hash? It should be soft and require minimal chewing
~Take frozen bananas and puree in the blender

Everyone has mentioned alot of great ideas. 

I hope he feels better soon!


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## flowergurl (Feb 27, 2007)

> I would think you could puree just about anything in a blender, no?


Yes blender or food processors work great! Beef stew or pot roast ran through one and pureed is heaven when you are starving and have a sour mouth. 
Done the whole denture thing in our house.


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