How Long on Soft Diet After Implant?

The best advice for you is that the longer  you can go without direct contact on the implant while healing is occurring the better the chance you have of full integration (bone formation around the implant.)  If the implant is buried under the gum tissue you do not need to worry.  If there is a healing abutment (small, round piece of metal above the gums) on the implant you should avoid hard foods (chips, nuts , apples, etc) for at least six weeks.  Keep great hygiene during this time, but keep an ultrasonic brush away from this area during healing.  Good luck.    

If your implant has been placed and is completely buried under the gums, meaning that no part of it sticks up out of the gums, then you should be okay to resume normal diet after 1-2 weeks once the gums have healed from the procedure. However, if you have a healing abutment or any other piece that sticks up out of the gums, you will want to have a careful/soft diet for the 6 weeks and have excellent hygiene in the area because this time is critical for the implant integration. Make sure to keep the area clean, and I would avoid using any kind of electric toothbrush in the area that may disturb the implant. Hope this helps!

Thank you for your question Jean. You are right. In general it sounds a little long and causious, but longer the better. More chance implant will integrate with the bone around it. We are all different. Your doctor , who actually placed implant, knows YOUR case the best. I would trust his judgement though.

An implant placed in the jawbone needs time to integrate with bone.  This time of healing needs to be undisturbed.  Small movement of the implant can cause bone malformation and therefore a softer attachment that will lead to future failure.  In an ideal scenario this healing takes 12-14 weeks.  The implant starts to get stronger in bone after about 6-8 weeks. I always suggest that a softer diet be eaten during the healing and the area around where the implant was placed not used for chewing.  3 months is a short time to sacrifice harder foods to ensure proper healing.  Soft foods include anything that you can easily cut with a fork.Best,

The healing time depends on the actual dental implant procedure performed and the tooth which was replaced.  If the implant was placed and "buried" under the gums for the healign period, a few days of soft diet is all that is necessary.  IF a temporary crown or and exposed abutment was placed on the implant at teh time of placement 3-4 months of "no chewing" on the implant is necessary because integration of the implant will be compromized if undue force is placed on it during the critical healing period.  You can always eat solid foods on the other side of your mouth in any event, or if it is a front tooth then you can chew with your back teeth